


The Long Con

by superevilbadguy



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: (my robbery plotting in this might not be the best), Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Crime Drama, Diakko, Don't Try This At Home, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Friendship, Gayyyyyyy, Humor, Not planning a much angst but it might make its way in there, Slow Burn, criminal!au, everyone is older 21+, guns/knives/nefarious plots, heist!au, hopefully this will be worth getting on a couple internet watch lists..., i am not a burglar..., i have trouble getting into my own house with my key sometimes..., inspired from watching a TON of Leverage, minor charoix, minor hanbarmanda, rating may change later... i havent quite decided yet, thief!AU, this is a bit out of my fluff and funny wheelhouse, whatever you want to call it...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 77,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24915352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superevilbadguy/pseuds/superevilbadguy
Summary: Heist AU. Akko and the rest of her team prepare themselves for their next job: the acquisition and replacement of The Silver Hound. Under the guidance of their team leader and mastermind, Professor Ursula Callistis, they have one night only and a small window to pull this off. There's always the risk of the unexpected, but with her friends at her side she knows she'll be able to handle whatever unknowns lie ahead. Right?
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Maybe more to come - Relationship, minor Amanda O'Neill/Hannah England/Barbara Parker
Comments: 243
Kudos: 292
Collections: Diakko favorites





	1. 44 Hours

‘ _Seventy-two. Seventy-three. Seventy-four. Seventy-five…’_ Akko counts under her breath as she moves through the air duct, marking exactly one minute and 45 seconds until 7:15pm. Her stance wide (at least as wide as one can have within an -albeit fairly spacious- air vent while sliding on her forearms and knees), she moves through the vent straightaway to the distant thrum of the air temperature shifting and the steady, light, slide over aluminum echoing in surround sound around her as she crawls forward. 

‘ _Ninety-four. Ninety-five. Ninety-six. Ninety-seven…’_ The girl slows her movement as she approaches a turn and an opening. “ _Here’s my stop_. _Ninety-seven seconds._ ” She whispers as she nears herself to the opening of the air vent finding herself looking over her destination. She looks around counting two security personnel not appearing to be armed with anything more than walkie talkies and flashlights. After watching them she takes a moment to glance down at her wristwatch reading 19:14:13.03 and with a quiet breath she resets her view on the room waiting until 7:15.

 _‘Okay. So, keycard – check. Security radio – check. Cameras – check. Clothing change – check. Vent – check. Break time?’_ Akko continues to watch the security guards, who at any moment now should be taking their final walk through of the room and checking in with the next room for break replacements. Once they leave, she will have four minutes to do her thing until the next shift comes in.

She looks down at her watch.

19:15:03.48.

And she pinches her brow as she continues to watch the guards peruse the room.

“How about them baseballs?” She hears one say. “Mhm. Mhm.” The other replies right before they both leave the room.

Akko takes a second to hold back her desire to laugh and listens for their footsteps until they are a safe distance away. “ _Check.”_ She whispers before whipping out her screwdriver and going to work on prying off the vent cover as gently and quietly as possible. It swings down with ease and Akko drops from the ceiling into the East Gallery sub floor – just below the display case holding her prize.

After weeks of research, monitoring financial records of paid security, scouring through archives of blueprints and robbing the architect responsible for these ridiculous addition plans, Akko and her team have cracked the mysteries and memorized every corner of the Meriliad Estate’s Private Museum. _Private_ , that is, until the grand reveal of the newly acquired Rembrandt art exhibit that Mr. Edison Court is opening for display to the public for one night only.

Luckily, only one night is all they’ll need.

Mr. Court is an _obscenely,_ grossly wealthy investor and real estate mogul throughout Southern Scotland and Northern England. Mostly from old money, but he is just as much the home-stealing, greedy hearted, asshole scumbag his father and forefathers were… and much to Akko’s delight… the victim of a theft he will be none the wiser to.

Hopefully…

It also helps that they’re not really going after the main event. So, thank you Mr. Rembrandt, for providing the perfect opportunity.

She and the rest of them had to admit, the security system in the museum was kinda insane. Unless it was on a wall (where the access point would be on the opposite side of the wall through a safe locked panel), each floor display was fixed with a two-floor-fastened seismic sensitive alarm case, cameras, and around the clock security.

There was no way that someone was touching ANY of the displayed artifacts in their exhibit rooms. Quietly… at least. 

But the displays gotta get set up somehow right?

Fortunately, Mr. Moneybags feels that paying someone to rip up the exhibit floors and to replace them each time he wants to move something is just a little bit ridiculous, so, instead he had the sub floors converted from solely storage, to both storage with and automated pulley system…beneath each display… that will pull the base with its contents _down_ _and out of the glass case_ …to give authorized personnel access…

Stinkin’ rich people be crazy man…

But no matter. Whether it’s in a plastic box or a funky floor pulley case, Atsuko Kagari is going to be leaving this hoity toity museum with a brand-new historical toy.

After pushing the vent cover back into place, Akko walks over to the pulley mechanism and eyes the controls and the dual authorization necessary to get to her goal. With just over three minutes on her timer, she gets to work.

Akko reaches down her shirt and into her bra and removes the keycard she had snagged off the head of Court’s security, Martin Rothlin. Rothlin had been working for Court’s museum security for upwards of 23 years and has complete clearance throughout the building.

Akko can’t help but think that that’s not a very wise move for a very wealthy guy… giving someone control over camera feed footage, security scheduling and whereabouts, AND giving them access to some of the most sought after works of art and history… It kind of seems like it’s just a matter of time until he tries to take something.

Hell, she’s only had control of feeds, keycard, and security knowledge for about 10 minutes and look where she is? He must be getting paid _very_ well.

Akko takes the key card and wipes it onto her shirt before scanning its identification chip over the scanner. There is a quiet beep along with a green LED as the tablet’s controls come alive to her.

“How are the cameras? Anybody around up there?” Akko asks as she fiddles with the controls and unsetting alarms.

_“One security guard walking through… on my go.”_

Akko waits, listening for the voice over her comm as her finger hovers over the button to confirm action. Her eyes flit down to her watch. ‘ _One minute and 40 seconds.’_

_“You’re clear. Go.”_

Akko taps the button and the mechanisms come to life. There is a light whir of the machine, not quite loud enough to penetrate the hallway, but still… she makes sure to listen closely to her comm as to not get caught with her pants down. Which coincidentally, is exactly where they needed to be.

Akko shimmies out of her baggy pants revealing a holster on the inside of her leg. Clad in underwear and the top half of her ‘sleuth suit’ as she likes to call it, she undoes the inner bindings of the holster, revealing – not a gun, but an exact replica of their prize.

By an unknown artist with an unknown name, just come to be referred to by its appearance, ‘The Silver Hound’ statue, was just that, a dog made of solid silver on a cracked, rounded stone platform. It was found off the coast of Istanbul, but the methods used, apparently, state that it had been around since the Hellenistic period. The one Akko currently held in her hand however, was made of some dense plastic and a really nice paint job.

With her pants still at her ankles, she places the dog on the ground and pulls out a lockpick and tension wrench from her pack. For all of the money and technology that went into designing this supposed fortress of security, the last barrier between Akko and one hell of a payday was a glass window and a tumbler lock. So, with skilled fingers, she picks.

The whirring stops as the display comes to rest in front of her eyes. She looks at the silver dog among all the other findings of extra old and cursed-looking, _yet valuable,_ things, but she knows those are not the objective. Ursula said that this has to go by without any notice or attention… so no freelancing.

At last the lock clicks. She turns the lock with a light push from the tension and the glass door opens before her.

Akko glances at her wristwatch, showing that she only has 46 seconds until the next round of security is set to come in. Carefully, she reaches in and weaves the silver statue off the display, painfully aware that she now has to cart this far heavier sculpture around on her inner thigh. She replaces the original with the fake dog, being careful to match its position, shuts the glass door and sends the display back up. She logs out of the control tablet and wipes at the screen to smudge any prints.

’ _30 seconds’_

Akko quickly fastens the statue in her holster and yanks up her pants, concealing both the loot and everything else she doesn’t want any guard to see.

“How’s the hall? _”_ She whispers as she fastens everything in place.

“ _Clear so far. You have 27 seconds.”_

“I know.”

Akko looks up at the air vent and curses her 5-foot-3-inch self. Yeah, she can make her way _through_ the vent with relative ease… the problem she faces is getting back up into it…

She peeks her head into the hallway for just a moment before she takes off in an almost silent walk through the hall.

This is the hardest part. They’ve been studying this place and its operation for weeks. They know the security schedule, they know the alarms, every closet, the combinations to get into the security teams’ lockers, break times and routes for attendants, hell, they even know front desk Gail’s nephew’s birthday and that she’ll be leaving early on the 16th to attend – but this… any rogue eyes or strange sounds, someone who had a bad lunch and taking quick bathroom run, or some attendee getting too close to a painting and setting off an alarm- ALL have the potential to blow the ‘in, out, and unseen’ mission. But that’s the risk. That’s what makes the adrenaline spike and the heart race. For as much control and information that they can gather there is always that gamble, that chance of the unexpected.

Not unlike a fully staffed, high tech security museum getting robbed of a single small item (being replaced with plastic) and the culprit walking straight out the back door using the head of security’s credentials. _That_ kind of unexpected.

But then again, that is exactly what happens.

Akko swipes the keycard over the panel at the exit-only rear door at the end of the hallway and uses a gloved hand to turn the lock and to push her way to freedom.

She steps out of the doors, still careful to keep her face down and hidden from cameras or onlookers, and begins to calmly walk away.

She’ll intend on dropping Rothlin’s card back off at his car, hopefully make the guy think he dropped it on his way in.

Once she has gotten off of the property, Akko grins.

“Time!” She says cheerfully. “How’d I do?”

The detailed world before her fades away as a giant set of numbers displaying her time flashes across her vision.

** 00:23:12.07 **

“Not bad for a solo run!” Amanda says, slapping the brunette’s shoulder as she removes the modified Cross Technology VR helmet and headset, breaking her from her simulation.

“Oh yeah? Think you could do better with that cast?” Akko teases as the redhead sticks out her tongue, waving the plastered arm in question.

“Oh, I’ll show you what I can do with this cast…” Amanda lifts her arm, readying a punch.

Normally, under any other circumstance, Amanda would have been the one in the air vent (and she would have been able to jump back into it too)… however the last extraction she was a part of – while successful – resulted in in a sprained wrist from being a little too lenient with the upkeep of her rappelling gear and harness.

“Careful! You’re almost done healing! You don’t want to be in it longer than you need to, do you?” Lotte warns.

“Yeah, the longer you’re in that sling, the more chances Akko gets to mess up a job.” Sucy says with a dry laugh as she walks out from behind Lotte.

Amanda lets out a sigh as she lowers her arm from the fake-cowering brunette. “Eh, I guess you’re right.”

“Hey! I didn’t mess up anything!”

“Yet.” Sucy quips.

“I’ve never messed up!”

“How about at the Fortesson Hotel when you were trying to pickpocket that mark with the sunglasses?” Sucy grins evilly as the other girls erupt into poorly concealed laughter watching Akko’s face go red.

“W-well, I still got it, didn’t I?!” She stutters, embarrassed.

“Ohhh yeah. But you would have gotten a ‘ _LOT more’_ if Jas didn’t get his hand off your ass.” Amanda wiggles her eyebrows. 

At this, the brunette can’t help but look back and sigh at the memories of just how ridiculous that job had gotten. “Well… she was the best, jealous, ex-fiancé I’ve ever had to make up on the spot. So there.”

“Aww.” Amanda coos before yelling towards the control room. “You hear that Jazzy? Akko misses your sweet, jealous lovin’!”

Jasminka walks out of the control room alongside Constanze and Ursula as they finish their documentation for the session. “What we had was special Akko, but after all this time I’m finally happy and I’ve moved on.” She replies jokingly. 

They all laugh, Ursula included, as she urges the girls together for their post-simulation analysis.

Once they quiet down, Ursula, the coordinator and mastermind of their little rag tag team of thieves, looks at Akko with a smile. “Nicely done, Akko. Plan G has potential as long as the security schedule remains regular. What were your thoughts?”

“Well, I liked this one much better than having to find another vent to crawl back into.” The brunette smiles with a shrug before giggling and turning to Constanze. “I almost lost it at ‘ _How about them baseballs.’_ ” she says imitating a man’s voice. “I liked it. It gave him… personality.” They all let out a laugh. “And knowing me, a rogue giggle is totally possible, so it’s best to prepare for anything!”

The small, mute, tech wizard laughs at the brunette’s rationalization of her silly joke, shaking her head and following with a supportive thumbs up.

“Okay, ladies. Let’s focus.” Ursula says trying to get the girls back on track. “We’ve got two days until the museum’s opening. I know you’re all working hard going through these plans, but we only really get one chance at this.”

For as long as Akko and the rest of the girls had known her, Ursula has been very focused on the safety of the girls first and foremost. There were plenty of jobs where she had called them to retreat because things were getting too risky, but this job… this one is different.

Akko – assured by the other girls who had noticed the same – sees, for the first time, that there’s almost a desperation in the woman to succeed in this heist. She doesn’t know what it is, to her this thing is just a dog-shaped hunk of metal, albeit… a very _valuable_ dog-shaped hunk of metal, but it ain’t no crowned jewels. But Ursula had been good to her… all of them really. She kept them safe, accepted them, mentored them, helped them pick targets... Generally, the people they targeted weren’t very good people. Anything they stole was stolen from someone else first, so in a way, it felt like they doing a service. They all vowed not to steal from the poor or struggling, only from those who were greedy with so much money that they wouldn’t miss what they lost. Akko liked to think that they were kind of like some modern-day band of merry men with Ursula as their Robin Hood.

They had all gotten to where they were by being victims of circumstance and Ursula – while “ _why”_ is still a mystery – took them in and helped them find a purpose…

So, if Ursula wants this funky dog statue, Akko will do her damndest to get it for her.

“Was there anything you saw while watching or running through that take that we should think on?” The older woman continues, asking the group.

The seven women move their way towards the seating they had afforded and discuss the simulation and its shortfalls and potential consequences. For hours they talked, coming up with alternative options if certain events didn’t unfold as predicted. What would happen if they amped up security further? There’s a chance they may hire and pay even more guards under the table, which would understate how many guards they are expecting. What types of distractions can be done to keep visitors and security out of the East Gallery while Akko is pulling the display down? At max, it’s only displaced for two minutes, but it only takes one person to ask where the exhibit is before someone goes to check it out. What if the presenter for the event is late? Will that change plans?

So many ‘if, then’ situations crossed between them that by the end of it, despite her motivation to get Ursula’s dog at any cost necessary, Akko was groaning, lying face down on the floor with Amanda fallen over and across her back.

“Great work today ladies. I apologize that went for so long. I guess I lost track of time.” Ursula smiles shyly, her personality far from the sure-voiced-shot-caller they all hear over their earpiece comms. Though… the same could be said for Akko. It’s seen that the girl lacks the virtue of patience in just about any circumstance other than when she’s about to steal something. It was a huge shock to her friends that she was capable of watching and waiting for a prolonged amount of time.

Chatting amongst themselves, the girls grab their belongings and research material from the couches and counters of the small, sparse living area they had come to call ‘the office’.

Ursula owned the building; a single-story condo right off of the Blytonbury Community College campus, the very school that she is a faculty member of. Akko and Amanda had actually been in Ursula’s Intro to Anthropology course the year before they found that theft was a common interest. That moment being when Akko and Amanda had snuck into the school’s research library after hours to nab this old, gnarled, Celtic cross on display (Amanda had set her eye on it) and the two of them see the soft spoken Anthro professor trying to pick the door to the building’s underbelly with a shirt and bag filled with old text that had previously been in a glass display case.

Over time, the rest found their way into Ursula’s ‘tutoring sessions’ discussing anthropology, archaeology, and how to displace items pertaining to each from others.

“Have a goodnight girls. Same time tomorrow, please.”

“Yes mom!” Sucy, Akko, and Amanda harmonize sarcastically causing the woman to laugh and shake her head.

“Be safe.” And with that she opens the door to let the girls out, following suit after setting the three locks even Akko would find challenging to crack if she didn’t already know the codes. After one last mental check, Ursula turns from the door, unlocks her car with one final wave to her ‘students’, and heads home for the night to prepare her lesson for the following day.

Together they leave their hidden-in-sight base, chatting as they move through the campus. Still, they are wary of their surroundings, but there’s not really anything too strange about a bunch of 20-somethings leaving a professor’s tutoring site and walking around a college campus. Akko quite likes the disguise of assumption, but if this continues, she may have to think of another reason to be there, lest her age give her away.

They group gets to their cars, Akko and Lotte hopping into the passenger and rear seat of Sucy’s sedan, and Jasminka and Constanze into Amanda’s Jeep, heading home to their respective, shared apartments.

In order to not arouse suspicion, (and because they _are_ friends), it makes sense for a few college-aged students to be living together to afford paying some bills. By no means were they scrounging for change – when they got a payday, _they got a payday –_ but if they were honest, none of them would really _want_ to live alone. Akko and Lotte were familiar with loneliness and welcome the company. Sucy on the other hand, says she’d be fine alone – but Akko doesn’t believe her. Besides, Akko felt there were better things to spend her money on.

They live well enough – each their own bedroom filled with their own personality, definitely allowing for privacy… but, at least in Akko’s case, she’s mostly happy she has people she trusts in the next rooms over. Most of them had been friends through high school, the only two that came to the party later were Lotte and Constanze. Akko met Lotte in one of her classes reading a crime novel, Akko being the bubbly talker she is (much to Sucy’s exhaustion), struck up conversation ending with Lotte going into full detail with how the story’s perpetrator could have done the crime without leaving evidence. As for Constanze, Amanda met her in the AV room when she was looking into camera equipment and saw the shorter girl hacking into the school’s shared drives and transferring midterm and final exams from previous semesters onto her laptop.

You never know what friends you’ll make and what opportunities await when you go into higher education...

Sucy pulls into the parking lot of their apartment complex and the three make their way into the building, Akko racing to reach the elevator door before it closes. Still chatting, the three reach the 7th floor of the building and make their way down the hallway to their door. Lotte pulls out the room key and swipes it onto the access pad noting that tonight was garbage night. Akko touches her nose with her finger as Sucy rolls her eyes, already heading to the trash once through the door.

It was normal. Definitely not the weirdly extreme, gunshot-ridden world that Akko had panicked about after stealing her first bag of chips from her old town’s convenience store. Though, while she imagined it always had that potential, now, with the sound of Lotte putting on game show reruns while she roots through the refrigerator for the ingredients needed for dinner, there is an ordinary calm.

After throwing an onion, some celery and baby carrots onto the countertop, taking a moment to think before tossing a bag of frozen broccoli to the pile, Akko determines tonight is a stir-fry kinda night and begins chopping and prepping.

The three eat dinner, relax, brush their teeth, and draw straws to see who showers last. As the last goodnight is said and the final light is flicked off, it’s then that Akko lays down, belly full and eyes heavy, and lets herself truly pay attention to the silence around her – allowing the hushed thought to drift through her mind…

‘ _I have 44 hours. If I mess up, I only have 44 hours.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay!!! So first and foremost I gotta say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Atsuko Kagari and to the anniversary of the LWA finale!  
> Yeah, no, I didn't think I would try to tackle another long fic but this idea has been in my head for a long time now... so... yay.  
> I hope you like it! It's a little out of my 'fluff and funny' wheelhouse but I promise there will still be laughs and I won't get *too* angsty.  
> I do not have a posting schedule in mind, so the chapters will come when they come. 
> 
> Thank you for reading chapter 1 of The Long Con!!! If this goes according to plan, there's a lot more coming.


	2. The Meriliad Job: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heist AU. After weeks of preparation, the night of the Meriliad Silver Hound heist descends upon Akko and her team. No matter how smoothly the job runs at the start, there is always the threat of the unexpected until the end.

Forty-three hours and 38 minutes pass and Akko sits in the limousine rented by Kobayashi Kazane – her alias – headed to the Meriliad Estate. She shifts her legs in her dress, scooting in her seat as she adjusts the holster and folded drawstring bag uncomfortably rubbing at her inner thigh.

_‘Just a few more minutes… and then I can stand. And then this stupid strap can get itself out of my –‘_

_“Snowshoe, what’s your ETA?”_ She hears Ursula’s voice calmly over the bone conduction earpiece microphone resting soundly in her ear.

“ _Just getting to the gateway. Maybe a minute and change.”_ Akko whispers quietly as to not alert the limo driver listening to Kazane’s _insisted radio_ station of choice. 

_“Remember. You’re going to have about twenty-eight minutes to get the tag, connect us to their comm frequency, and give us visual to intercept once you meet up with Dancer.”_

_“No sweat.”_ Akko smirks. _“Ya hear that Dancer? No holding me up.”_

 _“As if.”_ Amanda’s voice spits over the line.

 _“Sprite,”_ Ursula cuts in before the other two’s conversation can escalate, _“How’s the floor?”_

Lotte, who had secured a position as a refreshment busser to be an additional set of eyes and ears on the floor, responds - _“Maybe 40 arrivals so far. R is in the foyer. I see guard postings as standard except in the main showroom, which is up by 5.”_

 _“As expected,”_ Sucy chimes in.

 _“Good thing that ain’t our objective.”_ Amanda’s grin could be heard through the comm. “ _Mmm, that is… unless you want to make this interesting – “_

 _“Not tonight.”_ Ursula says sternly. _“In and out today, alright ladies? Nothing extra.”_

 _“Yes Grizzly.”_ The rest respond resolutely.

Akko feels the limousine come to a stop and shifts her eyes to the driver whose hand reaches towards the door with a click.

 _“Alright. I just pulled up. See you soon, Sprite.”_ Akko says with a smile as she shifts herself upwards, granting relief from the holster’s straps. _“Have a glass ready for me.”_

Kobayashi Kazane steps out of the limousine with two clicks as her short, retractable heels meet the cobblestone walkway. “Thank you.” She says faking a heavy Japanese accent as she thanks the limo driver still holding her door. He bows his head and returns to the other side of the car as the woman begins to make her way up towards the museum’s entrance.

Eyes sharp, Akko walks up the walkway lined by neatly shaped bushes and lovely stone benches. The long black blouson dress tailored to conceal the utility pants and statue holster flows behind her with each step just as her pin-straight brown locks take influence from the breeze.

Carefully, she ascends the small staircase up towards the ornate, column-lined doorway and the heavyset security guard checking IDs and collecting the “donation fee” to enter for the event.

Akko approaches the suited man with a big smile on her modestly – yet transformative – makeup covered face.

“Identification and donation please.”

Akko pauses for a moment with a squinted brow before brightening her expression and rooting around in her handbag. She pulls out Kobayashi Kazane’s newly printed passport (beautifully brought to existence by Constanze), as well as the $50 note required to ‘donate’ for entrance.

 _‘What’s he even need this for?’_ She thinks as she has just the smallest of hesitations handing the note and passport to the guard. ‘ _This has gotta be pocket change for this guy!’_

The man seems to take a closer look at the note than he does at the passport, decidedly finding the authenticity of the money to be more important than the identity of the holder. Fine by Akko.

Once he determines the note’s legitimacy, he hands back the passport and gestures her through the huge dark oak doors into the marble-floored, cream and eggshell colored gallery foyer.

Akko steps through, marveling at the large lavishly decorated room, easily able to fool anyone who didn’t know that she already had the virtual map of every square inch of the place etched into her mind.

She continues to move around the floor eyeing some artwork (definitely not considering how she could get out with some of it _as well as_ the dog…). Her eyes drift over to Martin Rothlin, the head of security, with his arms crossed and standing in front of the main event hall’s entrance; identification and authorization tag clipped to his breast pocket.

 _‘Excellent.’_ Akko thinks before spotting Lotte with her tray of drinks at the center of the floor and beginning to make her way over.

Once she reaches the redhead donning brown contacts over her naturally blue eyes, along with a pale grey button up and a pair of fitted black slacks, Akko smiles the polite smile reserved for strangers in a setting such as this and asks for an ice water.

“Thank you.” Akko says with a slight bow, still laying the accent on thick, before walking away to peruse the rest of the room and its monitors.

 _“Snowshoe, I told you that black dress would look amazing on you.”_ Lotte whispers into her mic.

“ _I didn’t think I’d look good in it… but your old girl doesn’t clean up too bad, huh?”_ Akko says with a hint of glee as she takes a quick glance down at her watch. 

“ _I mean… I’d tap that…”_ Amanda’s voice, clear as a bell, comes over her earpiece. “ _Just remember that you’re not supposed to be trying to get anyone’s attention tonight…_ ” Amanda steps through the threshold of the doorway commanding an aura of prominence. “ _That would be my job.”_

Now, as lovely as Akko was that evening – a dead ringer for any diamond-dipped hoity toity who would be attending that museum’s exhibit – her costume was simply average compared to Amanda’s vibrant colored hair falling in waves at her cheeks, emerald and diamond earrings dripping from her ears, brazen magazine eye makeup which was somehow both over the top and tasteful, and the fit-to-form silken emerald dress hemmed with silver and studded with convincing rhinestones. While Amanda’s role was to draw attention, Akko’s role was to blend in with the crowd of high society; and being that she has seen two people with a dress similar to hers, she was doing just fine with that.

The only thing that looked out of place was the black sling encasing Amanda– rather, Carmilla Sindon’s left arm, but even so, it too played an important role.

“ _While I’d rather rock the socks off these rich folks with some outrageous three-piece suit…_ ” Amanda grumbles with a slight discomfort as she discreetly reaches into the dress and adjusts her bra with a scratch. _“I gotta admit, there’s a kind of raw power that comes from feeling like a widower flaunting her dead husband’s money around while she hunts for another man…_ ”

 _“That’s… kinda dark…_ ” Sucy’s dry voice echoes over the comms. “ _But whatever gets you into character_.” She shrugs.

 _“Okay ladies. We’ve got 18:41 on the clock. Ready to get this started?”_ Ursula’s voice filters through their earpieces.

 _“Let’s do this.”_ Akko whispers, a burst of adrenaline sending the butterflies left dormant in her chest into an excited dance.

 _“Aright. Get’r goin.”_ Amanda grins as she watches Akko bend over, pretending to fix her shoe beside the head of security, and subtly tipping her glass of ice water onto the floor.

Amanda straightens her back and begins sauntering with purpose towards the entrance of the main event hall. Towards Rothlin… and towards her destination of the well-hidden patch of slippery ice-covered marble. 

She tosses her hair, watching as Akko melds into the crowd of people. Separating herself from relevancy.

She walks forward, fixing her expression to blissfully unaware, until at last feeling the toe of her heel slide with no resistance along the wet marble flooring.

With an exaggerated scream, drawing the attention of the room, Amanda controls her fall convincingly; flailing her arms and legs just as practiced as to not injure her arm further.

She hits the ground with a drawn-out dramatic groan as Rothlin, wide eyed and genuinely concerned, rushes to help lift her up. Amanda begins shifting her legs beneath her, spreading the slickness around the floor as she makes show of a struggle to get to her feet. “Ma’am, a– ”

“Watch your hand you buffoon!” Amanda screeches, slapping at his arm before slipping down once again. This time, Lotte rushes over to help catch and steady her from behind her shoulders.

“Careful of my ar- Get off of me!” She yells as she gets to her feet, waving her good arm theatrically, getting Rothlin and Lotte away from her. “Who is responsible for this?” Her eyes glance over Lotte and bore into the head of security’s eyes. “I could have cracked my skull on these floors! Do you know who I am?”

“I- ah – you.” He stumbles coming up blank as the eyes of everyone in the gallery hone in on the drama.

“And why is there no wet floor sign or towel? Right next to you!” Amanda gestures to the floor before pointing at him accusingly. “You sir, are looking at a lawsuit!” She then takes her phone out of her bag. “I’m going to have to document this to show to my lawyer.”

Amanda, pulling up the frequency syncing software Constanze had installed on her phone in order to listen in on security’s comms, pretends to take pictures of the floor until the process completes.

“ _We’ve got their channel.”_ Ursula’s voice comes over the earpiece. “ _Ears are out.”_

With a huff Amanda lowers her phone, sticking it back into her bag and placing her hand on her hip. “So, are you just waiting for someone else to come around and get hurt and sue or are you going to clean this up?”

“Y-yes, of course.” Rothlin says as he snaps out of his expletive laden thoughts of the woman in front of him. “I’m terribly sorry ma’am, we’re going to take care of this right away.” He looks around finding Lotte. “Go. What are you waiting for? Go get something to clean this mess up.” He demands, shooing her away with a glare.

With a quick nod and a feign of confusion, Lotte rushes off with her serving tray in hand – Rothlin’s ID tag held beneath the platter, freshly transferred from Amanda’s cast from her pick during the slip.

“Please ma’am, wo–” Rothlin tries to comfort her again, before Amanda continues her performance.

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!”

* * *

Akko has to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the display in front of her as Lotte comes rushing by. With a quick shift of fingers, the tag drops from the redhead’s hand and within a fraction of a second the tradeoff is completed with Akko catching the tag and slipping it into the folds of her dress.

 _“Tag in hand. Let’s get some more eyes in here.”_ Akko whispers as she passes through the West Gallery towards the restroom – and according to the blueprints and casing evidence… just down the hallway from the staff monitoring offices and electrical.

Akko moves down the hallway, past the bathroom and towards the offices. She first passes one darkened room, a standard office with filing cabinets and the like. The second, she takes a glance behind herself before pulling out a mirror and taking a look around the corner of the doorway to see the monitoring security staff pouring over an eight-monitor wall of screens.

Akko backs away from the door and begins moving back down the hallway at the sight of herself in the on one of the screens. Fortunately, it didn’t appear any of the security team noticed, they were a little busy laughing and watching the scene of their boss getting reamed on by a very excitable guest on one of the foyer’s camera feeds.

 _“Three in the office, Dancer. One cam in the hall. I need you.”_ Akko whispers as she takes a natural turn into the restroom. 

Meanwhile, Amanda, red-faced and… if she were honest… kind of feeling bad about giving this guy such a hard time, hears Akko’s plea and decides it’s time to let this guy curse at her in peace.

“I hope for your sake, _Sir_ , that my physical therapist doesn’t determine that I’ve been injured further due to your negligence.” Amanda motions her sling bound arm. “I… I can’t even look at you anymore.” she exclaims exasperatedly as she dramatically turns away from Rothlin. “I’m going to try to dry this dress with the restroom hand dryers. You _do_ have hand dryers, don’t you?”

Without another word, Amanda storms off towards the hallway. Behind her back, Rothlin flexes his fingers with a crack and takes an aggressive breath in an attempt to calm himself.

“That woman was wild. I don’t know how you handled that...” Lotte says kindly as she returns to the spill with a towel and begins to soak up the water. “Do you deal with people like that often? I don’t think I could have stayed that calm.”

Rothlin looks at the small redhead wiping up the floor and allows himself a tired sigh. “I used to see my fair share, but I admit it’s been a while.” He pauses, watching her and then frowns. “Here, you don’t have to be on the floor… allow me.”

Lotte looks up at the older man before rising to her feet, leaving the towel on the marble. Rothlin then puts his foot on the cloth and begins wiping the floor.

“I apologize for being sharp with you, I lost my composure with that one.” He says with a hint of guilt behind his professionalism.

“Oh, it’s no trouble!” Lotte smiles disarmingly. “I completely understand. I do appreciate the apology though.”

With a few more swipes of his foot, Rothlin determines the floor is slip-free and picks up the towel to place behind the front desk for the time being.

“So, Mr. Rothlin sir–” Lotte starts.

“It’s alright, you don’t work for me… you can call me Martin.” He says with a smile as he resumes his watch over the gallery foyer and main event hall.

“O-oh, Mr. Martin sir –” She restarts, this time getting a humored look from the man. “Have you always worked in museums?”

* * *

_“Okay, Sprite’s got R under control. Ready for a show Snowshoe?”_ Amanda whispers as she pretends to rifle through her bag as she clears the West Gallery and starts downs the hallway towards Akko.

 _“Always.”_ Akko grins as she listens at the door for Amanda’s footsteps. At the sound of the other girl’s heels, Akko slips out of the restroom hanging close to the wall, just on the edge of the hall camera’s blindspot. She and Amanda walk in sync as though to mask the sound of additional footsteps. The moment they reach the monitoring office’s open door, Akko makes a break for the electrical room as fast as she can while Amanda startles the three men watching over the camera feeds.

“Um, excuse me! Is the ladies’ room down this way?” Amanda says loudly, practically throwing herself into the doorway, pulling the security team’s eyes off their screens and onto her out of shock. Amanda looks at each of the alarmed men before her eyes glance over one of the screens noticing Akko slipping away into the electrical room.

“Oh, yeah, it should be back down that way on the left.” The first of the men to regain their composure says while pointing back down the hall where Amanda had come from.

“I didn’t see any signs or anyth- oh! Oh. _The unisex restroom_? Oh. _I see_ …” And so, Amanda kept camera security occupied and distracted while Akko worked on leeching their feeds from under them.

Meanwhile, Akko, finding her way in the mass of tangled wires, lifts up her dress and pulls out a small device with an antenna. Constanze had developed the device to allow her remote access to camera feeds – which in this case, will be used to give her team an insider look on real time security movement, as well as grant access to freeze frame the camera in the East Gallery main and sub floors so that Meriliad’s security has no evidence of the descending display case or of the girl dropping out of the ventilation system.

She could cause some real damage here with all these wires… a sudden blackout… some shorted alarms… but no… Ursula wants and in and out, no suspicions, ghost job – and that is what she’ll get.

Akko takes the device and works on crossing the feed wires. It takes a little fumbling, but at last she hears Ursula’s voice over the earpiece.

_“Visuals are up. 18:55 on the clock. You’re doing good.”_

Akko replaces the covering over the electrical wires, hiding her tampering, and rushes herself over to the door. “ _How’s the hall Grizzly?”_

_“Hallway is clear and we’ll temporarily freeze the footage for your out. And it looks like the speaker for the event is just arriving. Think you can use that, Dancer?”_

Akko opens the door, closing it behind her and leaving it just as she found it. She leisurely makes her way down the hallway, looking far from suspicious especially now, since the tv monitor that was once showing her is displaying a nice, empty hall.

Akko nears the wall and approaches Amanda, who then feigns surprise and animatedly points at the screens of the camera monitors. “What is THAT behind Sir Olivio Jannes?!”

The three men spin in their chairs, eyes searching the screens for the possible threat as Akko strolls behind Amanda and past the door.

“Oh, my goodness, how embarrassing.” Amanda laughs. “I believe it was just his shadow on the column behind him. I apologize for startling you.”

The senior member of the three monitoring staff members meets her apology with a smile. “Oh, it’s no worry ma’am. Now, we actually gotta get back to work here now that our special guest is here.”

“Oh yes, of course.” Amanda smiles “The reveal will be any minute now, yes?”

“Yes ma’am. We hope you enjoy the exhibit.”

“I’m sure I will.” Amanda says sweetly. “Keep up the good work!” And then she turns her heel with a silent scoff and makes her way down the hallway to meet up with Akko by the restroom.

“Nice job…” Akko says quietly as she nudges at Amanda’s shoulder.

“Why do you sound surprised?” Amanda looks at her slightly offended.

 _“Alright… we might have a problem.”_ Ursula cuts into their conversation.

 _“What’s the hiccup?”_ Akko asks.

_“Most of the attendees have followed Sir Jannes into the Main Event Hall for the reveal, but there’s someone still in the East Gallery and – ”_

_“No sweat, we’ll just get them out.”_ Akko says with confidence.

 _“Leave it all to me.”_ Amanda says as she and Akko walk out of the hall into the West Gallery only to come face to face with the owner of the estate, Mr. Edison Court _himself_ alongside his personal assistant.

“Miss Sindon,” Edison Court says with a forced smile honing in on Amanda, “I was informed there was an accident earlier in the foyer and I just wanted to make sure you were unharmed.”

Akko continues to walk forward – after all, Kazane does not know this dramatic woman, she just happened to be in the ‘ _bathroom_ ’ at the same time…

Much to her relief, Mr. Court and his assistant didn’t spare her a second glance. Amanda, however was trapped in the line of fire.

 _“I… was going to say Court was on his way to you.”_ Ursula says.

“ _Are we busted?”_ Akko hurriedly whispers.

_“No, I’m quite certain he’s just trying to avoid being sued.”_

“So, Miss Sindon. I expect you came here tonight to see Sir Olivio Jannes reveal our newest Rembrandt. What would you say to a front seat for his speech hm?” Edison asks her, holding his hands folded in front of him.

“It’s quite alright, I will be fi–” Amanda tries to decline, but is cut off by Edison’s arm extending and herding her towards the Main Event Hall.

“I insist ma’am, I am a gracious host and I am terribly sorry for my staff’s conduct. Please, join me, and let’s get you a front row seat to one of Rembrandt’s finest pieces of work. Can I get you some wine?”

Akko watches as Amanda is led away into the Main Event Hall. The redhead’s eyes meet Akko’s, pleading, before she is led out of sight.

“ _I got this.”_ Akko whispers over the comm, looking up and seeing Lotte chatting it up with a _laughing_ Rothlin talking about his 14th birthday party, attention focusing loosely on the people within the Rembrandt exhibit. 

‘ _Okay, hopefully he won’t be taking any strolls for the next 20 minutes…’_ Akko thinks as she soundlessly walks her way across the foyer and towards the East Gallery.

 _“I guess things were going too smoothly. It only makes sense that something would go wro–”_ Akko pauses in the middle of her sentence to Ursula and is caught off guard by the sight before her.

_‘Oh wow… she’s gorgeous.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess there should be a kind of legend for text if anybody is confused with how I have certain things formatted?
> 
> "Words" - Verbal, outloud, speech  
> italicized "words" - What is spoken over coms or phone  
> italicized 'words' - Character's internal thoughts


	3. The Meriliad Job: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heist AU. After weeks of preparation, the night of the Meriliad Silver Hound heist descends upon Akko and her team. No matter how smoothly the job runs at the start, there is always the threat of the unexpected until the end.

_‘Oh wow… she’s gorgeous.’_

Standing at the velvet lined stanchions surrounding the exhibit displaying ‘The Silver Hound’ is a young woman, approximately Akko’s age, maybe a year or two older, with platinum blonde hair tied into an elegant bun showcasing a lithe, fair-skinned neck leading down to a long, sleeveless, royal blue dress with silver and black embellishments. The woman’s gaze shifts from the glass’s contents towards the Japanese woman entering the room, nearly freezing her in her steps with no more than a single look.

Akko fights the urge to stop in her tracks as the blush climbs in her cheeks.

‘ _Oh my god. Stop. Don’t lose your cool. You have a job to do. And right now your job is to make Kazane talk to that ridiculously beautiful woman. So, go! Go me! Go!’_

Attempting to slip out of ‘Akko’ and into her con’s identity, she takes another step forward into the East Gallery, forcing her eyes away from the blonde’s. Even once she looks away, Akko can still feel the intense cerulean eyes of the woman boring into her, watching her.

‘ _Relax, relax, relax. This place is filled with judgy rich people, she’s probably no different. You just have to talk to her… and make her leave. Easy peasy… I make Sucy do it all the time.’_

As Akko nears the exhibit, the other woman unlocks her gaze and returns her eyes to the case. Akko sneaks a glance and notices, while the intensity is gone, something else had taken its place.

“They’re all quite beautiful, aren’t they?” The blonde says, eyes still on the exhibit.

Not expecting her to be the one to start any idle chatter, Akko quickly resets her composure, humming in affirmation as she looks at a very strange looking, squat (maybe human?) stone figure whose ever-wide eyes glare blankly back at her. She then re-affixes her eyes on the reflection of the glass, meeting the blonde’s blue before quickly shifting away.

 _“What are you waiting for, Snowshoe? Get chattin.”_ Amanda’s voice grumbles over the earpiece. “ _What’s wrong? She cute or something?”_

 _“Shh –”_ Akko starts responding before drawing the attention of the blonde’s eyes yet again.

“Es-especially w-with the me- materials they had access to at the time. Yes.” Akko says shakily, remembering to add in her fake accent. “M-my apologies, English is not my first language.”

The blonde’s eyes study her again, that intensity flickering once more before turning kind. “Oh, I see, no need to apologize.” She smiles before shifting over, allowing more room in front of the exhibit for Akko to step in.

Taking the offered space, Akko steps in and regards the gesture with a “Thank you.”

‘ _Okay Kazane… big words… be smart.’_

“This collection is truly remarkable.” Akko states slowly as she looks into the encasement. So close, yet several very important steps away from the silver dog staring back at her. “And with the acquisition of the Rembrandt paintings… this Mr. Court is very fortunate.” 

“There are a lot of fine pieces, yes.” The woman says kindly. “Mr. Court comes from several generations of art and history collectors, no doubt some of these have been in his family’s ownership for over a century.”

This, Akko knew to be true. “Ooh.” She hums. “You are quite knowledgeable. Are you a collector also?”

“Ah, no I am not.” The blonde says with a slight shift of her eyes.” I… just have an interest in historical pieces. All the culture, methods, the how and why some of these artifacts were created is truly fascinating…” She shifts in her dress looking down into the case. “Time has a way of hiding why people do things, and some of these pieces provide insight about the mysteries in human history. Helping us find answers to why people do what we do today.”

‘ _I’d like to know what reason somebody made that creepy squatty guy… I hope he didn’t affect us in the long run…’_ Akko thinks as she looks uncomfortably at the stone being continuing to eerily stare back at her.

Akko shakes off the lull of the blonde’s voice and the hypnotizing lock of the statues gaze as a thought hits her. “Ah, a scholar then? Do you attend the local university for your studies?”

‘ _She doesn’t recognize me does she? She doesn’t really look the type to go to Blytonbury Community College... but –‘_

The girl sighs with a sad smile. “I’m afraid not. I had attended university in a different field several years back, but I… decided to take a break from my studies.” Akko watches her reflection in the exhibit glass before the blonde turns to face her with a tight smile. “The interest is a hobby I’ve carried since childhood and I figured an opportunity to visit this collection would be a shame to miss.”

Akko recoils a bit from the sudden shift in the woman’s demeanor.

_‘Reading this girl is all over the place… there’s a lot more than she lets on… I wonder –’_

“How about yourself?” Slightly alerted by the force of the question, almost demanding, Akko looks into cerulean eyes sensing a slight hardness that wasn’t there before. “Are you a collector?”

“Ah, no.” Akko resets her smile and begins reciting her backstory. “My father is travelling for business and he wanted me to experience the culture here with the opportunity. He has always had an admiration for Roman architecture and European art. We have visited several museums and galleries together and he was planning on attending tonight, however, he seems to have eaten something that has been disagreeing with him, but he insisted I come so I can tell him about it.” The blonde looks at her thoughtfully before she continues, “It is a shame they do not allow photography.” She nods towards the sign by the doorway displaying a red cross over a camera. 

“I see.” The woman says. “It’s regrettable to hear about your father, though I know this museum’s collection is traditionally photographed and published online. I know it’s not the same experience as in person, but it’s still an experience. I believe they also sell printed books.”

“Oh! That is good to know.” Akko says kindly, completely aware. How else would Ursula have known where to find the dog? “Thank you.”

‘ _This chick is weird. Gorgeous… and helpful… but weird. Her personality is all over the place… and I’M the con woman… I guess I should come to expect that some of these art history folks can be a little strange though.’_ She muses as she looks yet again at the stubby stone man. ‘ _She’s interesting though… kinda mysterious…smart...pretty… I wouldn’t mind learning a little more outside of work…’_

And then she is reminded that she is not Atsuko Kagari. Right now, in this black dress trying to talk this girl out of the room, she is Kobayashi Kazane – Japan native on a UK trip with her father.

It’s a hard fact she is saddened by whenever she gets the chance to meet someone interesting while on the job, but anyone she meets on the job can turn into a potential problem if seen out on the streets. It makes connecting with people on a personal basis pretty hard – not only is she not who she said she was (resulting in trust issues right off the bat), but she’s also a criminal (usually a big turn off resulting in even more trust issues and maybe a call to the authorities). She’s fortunate to have such a close-knit group of good friends, but being in this line of work… it makes the hope for any other kind of life nearly impossible. However…

‘ _I mean… I guess I can at least learn her name… so, I can make sure to… avoid her… in the future…Yeah.’_ Akko rationalizes before beginning to sputter.

“Oh, I apologize for my rudeness. I haven’t introduced myself.” The brunette bows in apology. “My name is Kazane Kobayashi.” She grins before extending a hand to the blonde.

Her eyes study Akko’s hand for a moment before she reaches out and takes it. With a polite shake of the hand and her eyes meeting burgundy she wears a reserved smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Cynthia Luna.”

“It’s a pleasure meeting you as well, Miss Luna.”

‘ _Okay… a pretty name for a pretty girl. I guess that makes sen–’_

 _“Speed it up, Snowshoe, you’re cutting close on time.”_ Akko hears through her earpiece as a sudden chill runs through her. _“It’s 19:06, the shift switch is in 9 minutes.”_

Akko’s eyes widen as she pulls her hand away from the blonde as calmly as she can muster.

‘ _Crap. It’s so late already? And I still have to get through the change and the vent… How am I gonna get her out of here now? I wasn’t expecting her to keep up the conversation… think, think, think…’_

 _“Dude, what’s taking you so long?”_ Amanda’s voice whispers over the mic. “ _Just… hit on her or something. With your awful flirting skills you could have cleared out the whole damn museum and we’d be on our way home by now.”_

Akko suffocates her blush but doesn’t discount the idea.

‘ _Well… I guess there’s no downside… On one hand she leaves and I finish the job. On the other… maybe I stand a chance!’_ A beat. ‘ _No. Wait… still a criminal who lied to her. Damnit.’_ She looks over to the blonde staring curiously at her. _‘She’s probably seeing the blush… great… I guess that’ll sell it better anyway. I’ll probably never see her again, so it doesn’t really matter, does it?’_

With a twinge of disappointment, not unlike any other cut-off in her line of work, Akko takes a quiet breath and decides what she has to do.

‘ _Okay. Let’s make it weird.’_

“So. Cynthia’s quite the beautiful name...” Akko says as she turns her tone flirty and bats her lashes at the blonde whose expression goes from curious to confused. Akko then reaches out her hand to ghost over the other woman’s fingers, stroking suggestively between her middle and ring fingers. “Would you say Cynthi-yeah to coming back to my place after?”

From over her earpiece, she hears a muffled wheeze that is then replaced by a barrage of coughs that she can hear clearly coming from the Main Event Hall. She can hear an additional chorus of giggles from her partners back home, but Amanda’s was by far the most prevalent. 

Meanwhile, the blonde’s eyes that were once squinted beneath a furrowed brow turned as round as saucers.

“Ah-e-excuse me?” The woman says, looking back at the brunette woman, not quite sure if what she heard was real or not.

“I-I was just meaning that if you want to study a little of the Japanese culture, you’re welcome to come back to my hotel and get up close with my personal private exhibit.” She says with a wink. “I know a good authentic place to eat out if you’re hungry.” Akko continues, gesturing to her body and biting her lip to both sell the seduction and to keep from laughing at the new muffled sound of Amanda over her earpiece.

The blonde continues to stare at her. Any composure or decorum that she had has been whipped away with the brunette’s words. Her blue eyes were wide and lost, looking at the woman in front of her before suddenly blinking as her face glows a magnificent pink and tries to right itself.

“I- ah- w- as informative as I’m sure that may be. I am afraid I must decline your invitation.” The blonde says almost a little too quickly as she looks around, anywhere, _at anything_ that is not the posturing woman before her. “I…ah… I believe Sir Jannes will be starting soon, so I best be going.” She says before clearing her throat and moving around the brunette. There is a moment of pause in her movement before the blonde turns to hesitantly face her, still not fully making eye-contact, and saying “Enjoy your evening Miss Kobayashi”, almost autonomously, before turning the rest of the way and moving quickly out of the room.

Once the blonde in the blue dress is out of sight, Akko allows herself to deflate and gives the blush room to vehemently claim her face. She takes a long calming breath, still listening to the sound of Amanda choking down her laughter on the other end of her comm.

“ _Jesus Christ.”_ Sucy says over the comm. “ _I think it would have been less traumatic for that girl if you just pulled a gun on her.”_

“ _Shut uuuuuuup.”_ Akko groans through grit teeth as she puts her hands to her cheeks feeling the heated glow of embarrassment.

“ _You okay Snowshoe?”_ Ursula says over the earpiece with a nervous laugh. Akko extends her arm with a thumbs up, knowing they can see the response through the feeds.

She slaps at her face with a deep breath before getting her mind back to the job at hand. “ _Okay. I’m good. Am I clear to get to the vent?”_

* * *

Thirteen minutes later Akko walks out the back door with a brand-new historic dog and nary a hitch. During their simulations they had overestimated the amount of guard activity that would be taking place in the subfloors, so much so that Akko was able to unlock the back door, prop it open with her dress and shoe filled bag, and run back to the security staff room and break into Rothlin’s locker to return his ID tag before getting away.

In the cover of dark she slips her dress back on, covering the metal dog on the inside of her leg and walks down the driveway towards a line of parked and waiting limousines, one in particular, with Jasminka and Sucy inside. Akko approaches the vehicle, eyeing the rear plate to ensure it’s the right one, raps her knuckle on the door two, then another three times before the click of unlocking is heard and the door opens. She ducks down into the limo, sliding into her seat in the back next to her purple haired friend.

“Mission accomplished.” Akko says with a grin as she spreads her legs and slaps at the holster through her dress.

“Classy.” Sucy says dryly. “ _Snowshoe’s in, you ready Dancer?”_

_“I’ve been ready since Jannes said ‘Good evening’ … get me outta here.”_

_“On our way.”_ Sucy says as Jasminka turns the key to the limousine and the engine comes to life. They drive around the estate loop to come back around to the front of the museum’s drop off and pick up. As they pull up, Amanda saunters out with a stale smile to the doorman’s “Have a good evening” before making her way to the limo. Jasminka, hair pulled back and dressed in a chauffer’s suit comes around the side of the limo and opens the door for Amanda. Akko sits, shrouded in the darkness of the car, watching as Amanda slides her way into the seat and promptly tosses her heels off the second Jasminka shuts the door.

“Holy hell, I never want to get used to heels.” She says throwing her head back against the seat with a groan.

Akko smiles, thankful that she was able to get away with short heels for the night. As Jasminka makes her way back to the driver’s seat, Akko looks back at the Meriliad Estate’s Private Museum and says a silent “farewell”, just as she does to each finished job. Through the opened front doors, she sees a familiar blue dress and its owner’s blonde hair. A residual heat sneaks up at her cheeks as she watches the blonde look around within the foyer.

‘ _Probably trying to make sure she doesn’t run into me… heh…’_ She thinks bitterly before letting a quiet sigh escape her lips. ‘ _Have a nice life, Cynthia Luna.’_

She allows herself one last look as Jasminka pulls the limo away then turns her attention to Amanda and throws her legs across her lap.

“Oof.” Amanda breathes as she lowers her casted arm onto Akko’s legs. “So, is that a silver dog in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” The redhead cracks a smile as Akko snorts.

“Both probably.” She says with a wink.

“Ugh. Ya nasty.” Amanda says with a fake grimace before putting up her good hand. “Pleasure workin’ with ya Miss Kobayashi.”

“The pleasure was all mine Miss. Sindon.” Akko replies, meeting her friend’s palm with a smack.

“ _You too Sprite, don’t think we forgot about ya.”_ Amanda says over her comm.

“ _Oh, I know how it is.”_ Lotte replies teasingly. _“I’m just cleaning up now, I’ll meet you at Grizzly’s.”_

_“Copy.”_

“ _We’ll be waiting.”_ Ursula’s voice comes over the comm. _“Just make sure you’re not followed. Good job, ladies.”_

The drive back is filled with humored chatting and vigilant rearward glances making sure they aren’t being tailed.

The group stops at their midway point, dropping off the limousine at the rental service and paying handsomely before switching cars. Once in the safety of Jasminka’s SUV, Akko and Amanda change out of their formal wear in the backseat, the two participating in a contest of who can let out the loudest, _most suggestive_ sounding sigh of relief once their costumes and gear are removed.

With the limo drop off added to their time, the four arrive back onto Blytonbury campus just as Lotte pulls up and parks on the street. The group watches for neighboring activity before leaving their cars and heading up the main walkway of the Tutoring House.

Ursula opens the door as they reach the top of the walkway and steps aside to welcome them in. Once they are all inside, she shuts the door and turns to face them.

“Everyone alright?” Ursula asks as she looks around at her crew, nodding and affirming in response. “Excellent.” She smiles before looking over to Akko who is already fishing the shining statue out of her bag from beneath her dress. Suddenly, Akko’s eyes widen in fear as her hand shifts wildly in the bag. She looks up and meets Ursula’s eyes, the woman’s face now a mirror of her own worried expression. She lets the fear marinate for a moment before cracking a smile and pulling ‘The Silver Hound’ safely out of her bag.

“Just kidding.” Akko teases with a smile as she hands the heavy relic over to her leader.

Ursula bites at the inside of her cheek and eyes the brunette disapprovingly before she lets out a humored sigh and reaches out to hold the piece in her hands. She brings it close, running her fingers delicately over the form of the dog. She looks the piece over and a relief comes over her features before she stalls and looks up to their residential chemistry expert.

“Sucy. Confirmation?” She says as she hands the piece over to the pink haired girl who taps at the metal and begins to study it with a furrowed brow.

“That went smoothly enough.” Lotte says as she pulls the camera feed bug retrieved from the electrical room out of her pocket, handing it to Constanze who is going around counting inventory.

“Yeah, security was pretty lax down there.” Akko says as she scratches her head. “I was expecting a lot more people. Do we know what happened?”

“Yeah,” Lotte grins. “After Amanda’s show with Rothlin, Court called a few of them upstairs to keep an eye on her in the Main Event Hall during the reveal.”

“Yeah, three of them practically stormed me after your pickup line sent me into cardiac arrest.” Amanda laughs, slapping the brunette’s shoulder. “That was fucking astounding.”

Akko rolls her eyes with an embarrassed blush. “Stop, please.”

“You _do_ know I was joking about actually hitting on her, right?” Amanda continues to laugh.

“Why would I not take that as a serious suggestion? I was running out of time and she was actually into having a conversation! I was desperate–!”

“This is a fake.” Sucy interrupts, holding up the artifact with a scrunch in her nose.

The rest of the team silences and turns to her.

“What?” Ursula pales, asking with a furrowed brow. “How do you know?”

“It’s made of iron…” Sucy says as she takes a magnet and places it on the statue with a resolute ‘tink’. “This is a neodymium magnet… it has a very strong attraction to metals containing ferrous material. Silver… is nonferrous… and while it would be expected for some material in it to hold the attraction, the magnet should slide if held on an angle… but this…” She turns the statue to the side, displaying the magnet’s firm hold. She pauses, letting the team fill in the blanks before turning the statue in her hands and tapping at the metal. “Based on the sound and color, this is polished iron… and by the look of it, it hasn’t been around very long.” She says looking up at Ursula. 

The group stands silently looking between their false prize and their leader whose eyes are focused in thought despite betraying a hint of fear behind her confusion.

‘ _How? I was so positive. There should have been no way for someone to get it before us unless it was a fake from the beginning… but the papers said…’_ Ursula’s mind churns, thinking over every possibility. ‘ _The place is a fortress and accessing the exhibits themselves requires executive clearance…_ _unless the head of security has been skimming off the sides. But why ‘that’ piece?’_ Her eyes shift upwards, her jaw set in thought. ‘ _It wouldn’t have made sense. They would have had to know that it wasn’t silver. They have a hired team of historians and archaeologists… there’s no way they would have put it on display if they knew… It had to have happened tonight… but how –’_ Her face falls slack.

_‘Unless…’_

“Constanze,” Ursula turns to the inventor. “Can you pull up the footage from the night? Before we got eyes inside?”

The small girl nods as she rushes over to her computer and begins typing away, pulling up the archived feeds she collected of the East Gallery and foyer throughout the night.

“And the back hallway?” Ursula asks, leaning in, eyes roving over the screens through the crowds of suits and dresses, seemingly looking for someone in particular. “No. No. No…” She mutters under her breath. “Nothing.”

Akko and the rest of the team come in and she, Amanda, and Lotte see themselves on the surveillance view – Amanda getting picked off by Mr. Court and his assistant as Akko walks by towards the East Gallery.

“That’s when I came in… so it must have happened before then…” Akko points out, squinting at the screen, letting her eyes hone in on the woman in the blue dress one more time.

“Hold on… back up a second.” Lotte suddenly says as she pushes herself closer to the screen. “Go back about… 40 seconds…”

Constanze rewinds the footage as they all watch the screen closely.

“Look. Right there.” Lotte points at the frame overlooking the foyer. “That man in the suit… he came from the East Gallery… but it’s not showing he was in the room. Rewind it.” They watch the footage again, and sure enough, the man was nowhere to be seen in the room. “The frame is frozen…” Lotte says with a hum.

Chariot’s eyes widen and her breath stills.

“But it’s not frozen when I come in…” Akko says as she sees herself enter the room on the screen. “Is there a jump in the footage?”

Constanze rewinds again as the team watches closely from when the man enters the foyer from nowhere to when Akko arrives.

“Wait… go back a sec.” Amanda says as she nudges Akko to the side so she can get a closer look. “Where she shows her face…” pointing at the blonde in the blue dress.

“That’s the girl I made a fool of myself to…” Akko groans. “I know, she was cute.”

Amanda focuses in on her, her face stone serious. “Conz, can you zoom in on her?”

Constanze does so, the pixels of the screen growing larger before she presses a few buttons causing the image to sharpen.

Amanda stares intently at the image before a flash of recognition crosses her eyes. “I know her…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, initially I was going to have this chapter and last chapter together but I was afraid it would be too big... so... I broke it up into two smaller ones. I HOPE YOU ENJOY!


	4. An Unexpected Reintroduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding that their Silver Hound is a fake, Akko decides to look into the only likely suspect, the pretty woman she met at the gallery.

The group turns their heads to face the redhead.

“Wait, you _know_ her??” Akko exclaims with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Amanda says continuing to study the footage before scrunching her eyes in thought. “Diana… Cuh-something.”

Akko cocks her head. “Can’t be. She said her name was Cynthia Luna?”

Ursula looks up at the two of them with widened eyes. The surprised look only lasts a moment before her face turns into an unreadable expression, her mind beginning to reel.

“Super blue eyes, yeah?” Amanda says looking back over to Akko.

Akko shrugs, not wanting to believe she had been duped by the blonde. “I mean, yeah, but that could be a lot of people...”

“Believe me,” Amanda insists with a bit of a blush, “I… uh… had a thing with her roommate…s…”

“Plural?!” Akko gapes.

“Artemis!” Lotte says suddenly and resolutely as though a lightbulb had been switched on, drawing the confused attention of the rest of the group. “In some Greek myths, it was said that Leto had given birth to Artemis and Apollo on Delos Island, _on Mount Cynthus._ Over time Cynthia became an epithet for Artemis, and Artemis’ Roman equal was Diana!” She says looking around at the rest of the group before going back into thought. “And the word ‘luna’ is associated with the moon… which Roman Diana was said to be a goddess over.” She looks up with a grin. “It would fit...”

“See! I knew it was her.” Amanda says as she steps back from the computer monitor victoriously while Akko looks down somewhat hypocritically crestfallen that she had been lied to.

“So what? She’s a mythology nerd… What does that have to do with our statue missing?” Sucy steps in. “You think she took it?”

“I mean… it’s possible… why else would she give Akko the wrong name.” Lotte reasons.

Suddenly Ursula straightens herself, face still an unreadable maze. “Excuse me girls…” she says, almost as an afterthought as she turns to walk into her personal study.

Akko’s heart sinks as she watches her go. Even though they made it out with all of their planning, their mission was a failure. _She_ had failed Ursula.

“Okay wait, go back again.” Lotte says leaning over Constanze’s shoulder over the monitors, now completely and fully invested at the mystery on hand. “So, she was in the frozen frame the whole time… so if we watch her… we should be able to see when the recording goes back to live… There!” The redhead yells pointing at the screen as Constanze plays it back.

“Nothing happened…” Akko says frowning at the screen.

“Her left hand! It’s just a moment, but it cuts back as she’s moving her hand.” Lotte watches the screen as Constanze rewinds it again and begins replaying the footage of those targeted few seconds frame by frame. Sure enough, the picture whispers to life at the sight of the blonde’s hand suddenly appearing into frame and just as quickly slipping away.

“That looks like a phone!” Akko exclaims at the sight.

“I’m willing to bet she was resuming the camera recording with whatever it was she was doing with it.” Lotte hums.

Akko continues to watch the footage as Constanze goes through it frame by frame, all up until she sees herself on the screen.

“So how do you think she did it?” Akko asks focused on the blonde’s figure on the monitor. “If she finished right before I got there, how did she get the statue? Nothing looked tampered with on my way down...”

“That’s assuming she did it.” Amanda says. “Yeah, the name thing is kinda weird, but she didn’t really look the type for art theft.”

“Do any of us?” Sucy says flatly. “Except for you, of course.”

Amanda pouts.

“I mean… it’s always possible they didn’t realize it was a fake from the beginning and still decided to display it. The real thing might have never actually been there.” Sucy says.

“But what if it was? How did she do it?” Akko says starting to bite at her thumb before suddenly yanking it away with a start, an idea in her head. “Hey… Amanda?”

The redhead quirks a brow at her. “Eh?”

“Did that thing with the roommate… _s_ … go… badly?” She questions with a hopeful smile. 

Amanda squints at her. “I mean… I didn’t think it did… I think we had a great time.” She smirks. “If ya know what I– ”

“Ya think maybe we can go meet them?!” Akko interrupts excitedly.

“W-what?” Amanda recoils with a grimace.

“Yeah! You can… I dunno… _catch up_ with your ‘ _friends’…_ and you can take me! And then maybe I can get some time with Cyn- Diana… and maybe I can try to talk to her about maybe trading something for the real dog to give to Ursula!”

“Woah, slow down. That’s assuming she even has the thing. And even if she did, what makes you think you could convince her to hand it over?”

“I dunno… talking to her one thief to another? I can be pretty persuasive.” Akko says with a smile and a wink.

Amanda deadpans.

“Please? C’mon…” the brunette pouts before putting on the biggest show of puppy eyes. “You made me say those pick-up lines to her…”

Amanda glares, watching the display, before breaking with a sigh. “I didn’t make you do shit. But as curious as I am about how that follow up interaction will go… me and the roommates thing was months ago… I don’t even know if they still live toge–”

Just then, Constanze pulls up a separate window on her computer with the names and current, shared condo address of this Diana and her two roommates. She looks over her shoulder at the redhead and gives a thumbs up alongside a look saying “what do you have to lose?”.

Amanda looks at the screen with the familiar names and presses her lips together into a line before looking back at the computer whiz, exasperation in her eyes. “Just… why do you know who they are?”

* * *

“I can’t believe they said yes!” Akko grins, bouncing excitedly and she and Amanda wait at the front door of Diana (and Amanda’s flings’) house. “You must have left a good impression!”

“Well, I like to think so.” Amanda states with a smirk and a swell of pride as she sends a text to the girl inside making her arrival known.

‘ _Okay. So, first step done! Now I just gotta hope Cynth– Diana is here… talk to her and explain that we really need the Silver Hound statue, and who knows! Maybe we’ll have another person to add to our group!’_ Akko thinks happily. ‘ _This is kinda exciting. It’s not like all the other people I meet at work… we both lied to each other, so it’s good!’_

Just then, the two of them hear the sound of the door being unlocked. Akko straightens herself, trying to make a good first and… well… sorta second… impression as she stands there in dark wash jeans and a pale red sweater next to Amanda who is wearing black skinny jeans with a green tank top under an undone white plaid button up and a cool expression.

The door opens to reveal a cute auburn-haired girl with sharp hazel eyes and charming freckles.

“Hey Hann–AH!” Amanda yelps and stumbles to the side as said auburn-haired girl slaps her clean across the face.

Akko stands stunned with widened eyes watching the scene unfold before her.

“Oh so now you want to ‘ _get in touch_ ’ huh? What about those two months AFTER you slept with me and my girlfriend?” Hannah yells angrily. “You didn’t seem to want to answer our texts then!”

“O-oh?” Amanda meekly rubs at her cheek as she thinks back to her previous time with the girls, reevaluating how they had left things off. “S-so you and Babs are an official thing now, yeah? Congrats.”

“Don’t call her Babs! It’s Barbara to you–” Hannah pauses, seemingly just noticing the brunette accompanying the focus of her ire. “And who are you?”

Akko stands stiffly, hoping not to be the next recipient of the auburn-haired girl’s hands. “A-ah I-I’m Akko. I’m a… friend of Amanda’s.” She says shyly.

Hannah’s eyes narrow at her causing Akko to feel an inexplicable chill. After a moment, her eyes turn disinterested as she grants her a half-hearted “Hi”.

“So, what did you want to talk about, huh?” Hannah spits as she refocuses herself on Amanda.

“I just wanted to uh… you know… catch up?” Amanda says with a sheepish grin, face red where Hannah had slapped her. “I uh… just got back into town… and remembered how cool you and… _Barbara_ were… so I was hoping –”

“What are _you_ doing here?!” A second girl, one with dark hair steps into the doorway with her eyes shooting daggers into Amanda.

Akko looks over to her friend with worry. ‘ _What did you do to make them so angry?????’_

“H-hey Barbara.” Amanda waves, angling her casted arm away from the girls and bracing herself for another hand.

“Hannah. Barbara. What’s going on?”

Akko’s ears perk up at the sound of the familiar voice of the blonde she had met at the gallery.

Just then, the blonde steps into view. “Is there a proble–”

And the moment she sees the familiar crimson eyes of the Japanese girl at her doorstep, she freezes with shock on her features.

Akko can’t help but stare back. This… Diana… was something beautiful at the gallery, but here… standing in a pale blue V-neck and grey shorts… it is abundantly clear that she is just as gorgeous underneath the event makeup and fancy dress. A light blush rises in her cheeks before she remembers exactly what she said to the woman before she left her in the gallery… replacing that heat with a sick embarrassment.

Diana on the other hand, can’t help but feel the heat rise at the memory of those same words. Getting herself back on track, she clears her throat before looking between the four people huddled at the doorway. “I-is there a problem here?”

The slight pause and the locking of eyes between the blonde and the brunette were not missed by Diana’s roommates. The both of them look between Akko and Diana, noting the pink present on their roommate’s cheeks before looking to each other with a glint in their eyes.

“Oh no, no problem Diana.” Hannah says innocently. “I don’t know if you remember her, but this is our… _friend_ … Amanda.”

Amanda looks up, completely caught off guard by the switch in the girls’ demeanor. One second, they were well on their way to slapping her into next week, the next, she’s a… ‘friend’. “Ah hey.”

Diana studies the girl for a moment, recognizing her immediately, but she finds she’s not quite sure from where. “It’s a pleasure.” She then turns back to face her friends with concern. “There’s no trouble? I thought I heard you yelling.”

“Oh! No!” Barbara waves off the worry. “Everything’s fine! We were just talking about how Amanda has something she wants to talk about… _privately_.” The dark-haired girl says as she reaches out and grabs onto the redheaded girl’s arm, maybe a little tighter than Amanda would deem comfortable.

“Sorry Akko! We’ll bring her right back!” Hannah says as she too grabs Amanda’s arm and begins following Barbara, leading Amanda to their bedroom. “Diana, would you mind bringing her into the living room? Thank youuuuu!” She continues before the three disappear into the bedroom with the slam of the door leaving Akko and Diana alone, staring.

* * *

“What the hell is going on?” Amanda panics as the two girls drag her into the room and push her aside before pressing their ears against the door.

“Shhh! We haven’t forgiven you for ghosting us.” Hannah says, listening to the door.

“But it looked like Diana has the hots for your friend and we’re gonna make it happen. So, you are temporarily tolerated so hush!” Barbara continues following her girlfriend’s lead.

Amanda stands in the bedroom (mostly unchanged from the previous time she saw it, she notices) dumbfounded. “What?”

* * *

Diana stands at the doorway as Akko waits on the other side of the threshold. The blonde glares at the brunette for a few moments before taking a resigning deep breath and motioning her to come inside.

“So, Akko huh? Or is that an alias too?” She says sharply.

Akko, a little taken back by the tone, rubs the back of her neck nervously. “Ah, no. It’s real. Heh.” She continues, trying her hardest to sound not nearly as nervous as she is. “And you’re Diana! You look like a Diana.”

“Do I?” The blonde continues as she leads the brunette through the condo.

“Listen, I uh… I wanted to apologize about those… lines… I used on you… in the gallery….” Akko looks down with a blush. “I’m not actually that forward… or anything like that... but –”

“Shh.” Diana hushes her. “I’m positive my roommates are trying to listen. Come.” The blonde says with a slight blush as she leads Akko past the living room and towards another door.

Diana opens the door ushering Akko inside. Akko hesitates slightly at the doorway looking at the blonde with unease before she walks into what looks like the girl’s bedroom. It was pretty simple. A pale-sheeted bed, several bookcases and a pricey-looking laptop on a well-worn desk. She hears the door shut behind her.

‘ _I guess her friends don’t know she’s a thief... I get being safe, but this is a little paranoid…’_

“Why would your roommates be listening in? If they don’t trust a stranger in the house why would they lea –” Akko turns to face the blonde and finds herself nose to muzzle with a handgun. “WOAH!” The brunette jumps backward throwing her hands up as she watches the blonde relevel the gun at her.

‘ _So much for charming her in conversation!’_

“H-hey I’m not here for trouble. I promise!”

“Then why are you here?” The blonde growls, her eyes dark and narrowed.

Thinking it might not be best to skirt around the subject since there is a literal gun in her face, Akko answers honestly. “I wanted to ask you about the other night… and The Silver Hound.”

“What makes you think I have anything to do with that statue?” She says coldly.

“W- well… Amanda recognized you and the fake name was kinda suspicious, and then we saw the frozen footage in the East Gallery, and –”

While Akko continues to explain herself, at the mention of Amanda’s name, Diana’s eyes widen, realizing she had recognized the girl from the gallery in that ridiculous getup. She begins searching through her memory trying to think back to how long ago it has been since the girl had first been in her home with Hannah and Barbara.

‘ _How long have they known?’_

“– I was just hoping that maybe we could talk, cause I kinda need it for someone… and I wanted to know if we could maybe trade or something?”

“What?” Diana snaps back to her words and looks at her incredulously. “No, I’m not going to _trade_ it! Are you insane?”

“So you _do_ have it!” Akko looks brightly at the blonde for a moment before the other woman lifts her thumb and turns off the safety. “Woah woah!” Akko panics, her heart racing in her chest. “What? No! Shit, never mind! You can keep it, it’s just a statue!”

“J-just a statue? My _mo_ –?” Diana cuts herself off, gritting her teeth, before taking a quick breath, quelling her sudden outburst of anger and continuing to point the gun at the girl’s head. “Who are you?”

“I’m a thief just trying to make a living!” She says moving back from the gun. “Like you, I assume.”

Diana scoffs. “There were hundreds of other pieces in that gallery. Why were you after that specifically?”

Hands still in the air, Akko responds speaking to the gun. “Small, valuable, out of the spotlight. I didn’t think it seemed so special. I don’t know? I’m just told to get stuff. Why do you care so much about it?”

Diana glares at her. ‘ _In comparison to the other pieces in that same exhibit, the Silver Hound was the least in monetary value…and far from the easiest thing to duplicate and move…But… she looks like she genuinely doesn’t know...’_

 _‘Don’t be ridiculous Diana, she’s a con-artist. A thief. She lies for a living. Though… I suppose it would make sense if whoever hired her didn’t tell her everything. Even so… she’s clearly a professional… it’s curious she’d let herself get in this position… unless…’_ The blonde’s eyes widen.

“What’s your partner doing in the other room?” Diana asks pointedly.

“Huh? I don’t know.”

“I swear, if you are holding my friends as –”

“Oh, god, no! We don’t do that!” Akko gasps, almost hurt that a hostage situation could be assumed. “We don’t hurt people. Besides, if that slapping was any indicator, I think they could definitely hold their own…” She allows herself to relax a little with a smile before snapping back to rigid as she remembers the gun. “I just came here to talk, I promise.”

Diana eyes her, still unsure if what she says can be trusted, but in her current position, lying about that would do very little to help her. “Alright then, talk.” She says sharply. “Who hired you to go after the Hound?”

“Nobody hired us, we work independently.” Akko says calmly.

Blue eyes narrow. “How’d you hear about the Hound?”

“We saw it in a picture online along those other artifacts, I guess… that’s how we usually pick.”

Diana watches the girl, reading her expression and body language. She absolutely took this woman by surprise, she’d think she’d slip up a little, but everything she’s saying seems genuine.

‘ _This just doesn’t add up…’_

“Who told you to go after it? You can’t expect me to believe you went after this piece for no real reason at a–wha!!” Diana is suddenly jerked off balance as Akko leaps forward, spinning herself on the inside of the blonde’s arm and pushing the gun to point up and away from them. It’s then that Akko bends over, pushing her hips into the blonde, knocking off her center of gravity, pulling her arm forward, disarming her, and then proceeding to flip her over her back.

The blonde lands with a thud, stumbling into the bed as Akko scrambles to pick up the gun, noting immediately that it rests remarkably light in her hand.

‘ _Plastic?’_

Akko pauses, gaping at the realistic, yet evidently fake, gun in her hand and can’t help but feel a little foolish that she was being held up by a plastic toy.

‘ _This girl and fakes…’_

The blonde recovers, holding her arm as she looks up at the brunette, devoid of the authority and confidence she had while behind the trigger of the fake gun. Akko notices a slight fear in her blue eyes. There is anger, yes… confusion, embarrassment, and a spark of defiance, but all is masked with a layer of swirling fear.

Akko puts her hands up in front of her, “I meant what I said… and I didn’t want to hurt you. Just, please don’t point anymore guns at me.” The brunette says, tossing the toy aside before refocusing on the blonde’s arm with a frown. “Are you hurt?” Akko asks as she starts to step forward.

“Stay away from me.” Diana demands with the ferocity of a cornered animal, halting Akko in her tracks.

“Okay.” Akko says calmly, stepping back to where she was.

Diana takes a moment to study the girl and comes to a realization.

‘ _If she were with the people who took my mother, there’s no reason for her to be acting so shy. I know what they do. But then who is she? There’s no other reason someone would go after the Silver Hound unless they work for them…’_

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Akko says slowly before her eyes shoot open with alarm. “Oh no! Did you hit your head??”

“I’m fine.” Diana says curtly, eyes still looking over the brunette as she begins to calm, noting that her sweater had gotten disheveled by the over shoulder throw.

‘ _She hardly looks the type…’_

“Listen…” The blonde speaks up, still on edge, but refined with a new control. “I have my reasons, as I’m sure you yours… but as it stands, what you’re looking for isn’t here.”

Akko watches her, not fully believing her words, but nodding nonetheless and accepting the outcome.

“Now,” the blonde continues, “I want you to leave, or else I’m going to call the police.”

Akko raises her eyebrows disbelievingly. “You won’t though…You’re just as much of a thief as I am.” She challenges with a smile.

“I am nothing like you.” Diana says with a strike of venom.

The brunette eyes her, brows still raised. “Whaaaatever you say… But still, I meant what I said, the statue is yours. You nabbed it fair and square. Honor amongst thieves and all that.” Akko winks at her, only to be met with a glare.

Akko begins backing towards the door. “I do have one question though…” She pauses as she rests her hand on the door, holding her gaze with the blonde, an inquisitive focus in her eye. “How did you do it? There wasn’t any trace of you when I went through. We were researching that place for weeks...finding any possible way of getting to it… How did you do it?”

Diana continues to eye her and takes a breath. “I don’t believe that is any of your business. Now please, go.”

Akko pouts. “Alright… be that way.” She turns to the door and decides to leave the subject where it lay. She’ll figure it out eventually. Still, a different curiosity continues to eat at her.

That look in Diana’s eyes… that fear… there was far more going on behind that blue than just the result of being disarmed. 

“You’re afraid of something… and it’s not of getting caught.” Akko states, turning to meet the blonde’s eyes once more. “If you need that statue to get out of trouble, I get it… I’ve been in that situation, and I know it’s a lot to hold on to.” She says as she rubs the back of her neck before looking down at the plastic handgun. “I want to believe you’re a good person… so… good luck. I hope the dog helps.” Akko flashes a half smile at the girl before opening the door and exiting out into the hallway, leaving Diana staring at the door with a pinched brow and conflict in her eyes.

Akko walks down the hall from which she came and makes her way to the front door. “Hey Amanda, I’m going to wait outside okay?” She yells before opening the door and closing it behind her, moving to wait on the sidewalk. Only a few moments later, Amanda is lightly shoved out of the door.

“Geez. What was I thinking with those two?” Amanda mumbles under her breath once she stops her stumbling and rights herself next to the brunette. “So, how’d it go? What’s the status on the dog?” She asks as she watches Akko stretch out her back and start walking.

“Ah, no luck on the dog… She didn’t really seem up for a trade. It looks like she needs it for something.” Akko shrugs.

“Ah, that blows.” Amanda says before looking over to her friend with a clever smile. “Mmmm… and how about the status on the girl?”

“…What?” Akko stops in her tracks and looks perplexedly the redhead.

“The girls said that Diana looked like she had the hots for you…” Amanda says slyly. “I mean, she’s already been acquainted with your flirting… I’m just wonderin what other kinda talkin ya’ll got up to…”

 _Ahem_. Akko coughs as a blush starts to creep up her cheeks. ‘ _I wish…’_

“Ah, I don’t think so…” Akko says scratching her warming cheek. “Unless you count her pointing a convincing but fake gun at me, and me shoulder throwing her to disarm said gun as flirtatious…”

Crickets.

“…Wait, you’re serious. What the shit?” Amanda looks disbelievingly at her.

“Yeah...”

“Welp” Amanda says slapping the brunette’s shoulder. “Looks like I’m not the only one who knows how to pick ‘em.”

* * *

After distractedly batting off her friends’ not so subtle pestering about “Amanda’s cute friend”, Diana retreats to her room for the evening. She lays on her bed, staring up to the ceiling, letting the expanse of cream-colored paint take in and guide her through her thoughts.

_‘She disarmed me... If she had been a true threat, I could have died. Have I gotten in way over my head?’_

She bites at her lip, thinking back at the legitimate fear she felt as that girl tossed her prop weapon to the side. But in the same stroke, she also thought back to the kind, warm crimson eyes.

‘ _She didn’t have the eyes of a killer… but who am I to be able to tell that? Then again, she did just leave. I could have easily been subdued… and if they had known about my family’s involvement at all beforehand, there’s no way they wouldn’t have been prepared to track down the artifact.’_

Diana allows her eyes to drift over to her desk. The statue, wrapped in cloth and newspaper is hidden behind a trick panel beneath what appears to be the solid-looking piece of wood making up the back of her desk. She had been planning on studying it more this evening, however, ever since Akko had come, she had been focused on locating any possible bugs or recording devices that could have been snuck in. She has yet to find anything, but to be safe, she’s decided she would not access the hidden compartment until she’s done a thorough sweep and is positive she’s not being monitored.

‘ _No one else should know about the artifacts but the Sons of Clytius… That’s what the notes said. Is it possible they’ve started changing how they do things? It wouldn’t benefit them if more people knew… but there’s no way this is coincidence… the fact that this Akko’s group was after this alone so soon after its sister piece was stolen…’_

Diana rolls over to face her desk, her eyes focusing hard on the desk where the artifact lay hidden. Her mind continues to whirl as she chews on the inside of her cheek. She lays there for a while, thinking about the artifact, thinking about the thief who came into her house, thinking about how all of this and the death of her mother was related.

‘ _I just wish I understood…’_

She rolls over onto her back and pinches her eyes closed in frustration.

 _‘What are you hiding?_ _Who else knows about you?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for an update! I was having a hard time getting into the writing mindset...  
> Thank you for reading and I hope you like what's coming up next!


	5. Preparation and an Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though the Silver Hound managed to elude them, there is still work to be done! The team begins casing their next job, and while Akko finds herself contemplating the notion of 'normal', a surprising invitation gives her a taste of preparing for a different kind of job.

Piled on the couch and lounging on the floor, the group of girls gather in the living area of the Tutoring House for Ursula to introduce their next job.

It’s been approximately two weeks since the Meriliad Hound Heist and there has yet to be any sign of news indicating that anyone had noticed the true _Silver Hound_ ’s disappearance. While _technically_ they themselves did not manage to steal the real thing, any investigation could open up the potential for danger, so no news is absolutely good news.

Akko sits on the floor with her back resting against the couch, still feeling badly about not being able to get Ursula’s prize. It’s almost never that their mentor is so serious about a specific piece, so the fact that she couldn’t get it for her still pangs at her chest with disappointment.

Ursula on the other hand seemed to have let the loss of the _Silver Hound_ pass in good stride. She had buried herself with work, class papers and otherwise, for only a day or two until she seemed to get over it entirely, not once looking into ways to negotiate for it with its new owner. Akko understands not wanting to be a sore loser about it, but Ursula acted almost desperate to get it… it seemed a little weird that she’d just let it go so quietly.

Unless, she somehow already got it from Diana over the last two weeks…

Though, Akko has a hard time imagining Ursula acting on her own to steal it back without telling them. Besides, Diana didn’t seem very keen on negotiating. She had just asked the blonde about it and she got the scare of a lifetime! There’s no way… unless… she went to extreme measures…

But Ursula would never do that! She has always taught them to try to do as much as possible without aggression. While of course, the majority of them are trained in basic self-defense… aside for Jasminka, who even before joining their crew was versed in more fighting styles than there are letters in the alphabet… they leave violence or harming others as a very last resort. Violence clouds the mind, leaves evidence, and makes enemies…

_‘There’s no way she’d hurt somebody to get just some statue… right?’_ Akko thinks, trying to convince herself out of the idea that her teacher took the blonde’s friends hostage for leverage or something equally cruel. _‘Besides, she wouldn’t have done something without telling us. We tell each other everything...’_

“Aaaaaa~kkoooooo…” Lotte sings, nudging the brunette’s shoulder as she sits beside her. Akko snaps out of her thoughts and turns to face the redhead, giving her her attention. “We were talking about what everybody thinks we’re going after.”

“Amanda seems to think we’re going after the ‘Holy Grail’.” Sucy says making air quotes with her fingers as she sits beside the redhead.

“Wha? What’s with the ‘fingers’?” Amanda scoffs, returning the gesture.

“I’m just saying that there’s a lot of fancy cups laying around.” Sucy shrugs. “Just because there’s a rumor that Appleton Academy has this secret, hidden chalice doesn’t mean it’s the Holy Grail.” 

“Oh, yeah. And you think the missing Imelda Marcos’ art collection is going to show up right here in England?”

“It’s far more likely than your cup.”

Lotte turns back to Akko as Sucy and Amanda begin listing likelihoods and possibilities. “I heard the findings of a French shipwreck have been bought up by a collector in Cheshire who’s planning on putting them on display around several of the major universities in the west.” Lotte explains to Akko before her eyes glitter in delight. “Do you think maybe we’ll be going after some actual shipwreck treasure?” 

“Hm, that would be really cool.” Akko considers the possibility thoughtfully before scratching her chin trying to think of any finds she had heard of lately. It’s a sort of guessing game they’ve taken to playing whenever Ursula calls on them for a new job. “I heard somebody say that George Harrison’s 1965 Rickenbacker might have shown up somewhere up north? Pretty sure it’s still stolen… I don’t know...” She hums before turning to Jasminka. “What do you think Jas?”

“I think it’s blood diamonds.” Jasminka says with a smile before nudging Constanze who shakes her head and mimes the action of swinging a sword and sheathing it.

“Oooooh!” Akko hums with a sparkle in her eyes. “Yeah… I vote Constanze… I wanna find the Sword of Light-”

It’s then that they hear the locks at the front door click undone followed by Ursula’s cheery voice greeting them.

“Hi everybody! I’m sorry I’m running a little late. I had a few students who had questions after lecture.” The blue haired professor smiles as she re-locks the door and steps into the living area. “Just eh… give me a moment to set up.”

The group returns her greeting as Ursula steps up to the center focus of the living area towards the television and begins to rifle through her bag to retrieve her laptop. As she pulls it out, a few ungraded student papers follow and drop, fluttering to the ground.

Akko jumps to action, moving towards the papers as she sees Ursula start to fumble with her laptop. Her mentor gives her a gracious look as she steadies the laptop and keeps the rest of her contents from falling out of the bag. Akko crawls over to gather the papers and can’t help but snort back a laugh as she notices one of the student’s answers to ‘What did Richard Leakey discover in 1984?’ was eloquently written: ‘Ur Mom’. 

It seems Ursula has a handful of challenge students this semester. Not like Akko can say that she was much better during her time in her class… but still… she would at least put a little creativity into her gag answers.

Akko hands the papers back to Ursula who had finished wirelessly connecting her laptop to the TV that now displays her home screen background of a polar bear.

“Thank you, Akko.” Smiles kindly and reaches out to collect the papers from Akko’s hand.

The brunette returns the smile, scooting her way back to the couch mentally scorning herself. ‘ _What was I thinking? Ursula would never threaten anybody! She’s the only teacher I’ve ever had that made up brand new extra credit assignment so me and a couple other students wouldn’t fail her class! How could I think such a horrible thing?’_

“Alright ladies,” Ursula starts, snapping Akko to attention and opening the password protected slideshow document on her laptop to an image of a shipwreck. “Who here has heard of the _Cœur Croyant_?”

Lotte wiggles in her seat knowing full well that she had won the game.

The woman’s eyes glance over to the redhead, a smile pushing at her lips. She is aware of the game her team plays, and she can’t help but find a little victory when one of the girls gets it right.

“The _Cœur Croyant_ was a French galleon under the command of Captain Claudius Ollivier in 1745.” Ursula begins passionately with perfect French annunciation. “It was an exploration ship on its way south when it had been stolen by pirates and renamed _Sentier de Dante_. They had remained at large until approximately 1751 where it is believed they had crashed into rock south of Ireland. The ship was found far off the coast of Cornwall approximately three weeks ago. Among the recently excavated remains there were various coin, precious gems and metals, as well as our objective…” Ursula pauses as she shifts to the next slide presenting a layered crystal ball filled with twinkling cut diamonds and topaz sitting on top of a tarnished bronze stand. “This is the ‘ _Noyau de L’univers’_ or otherwise known as the ‘ _Core of the Universe’_.”

The girls look at the orb. It’s polished surface shining, surely after hours and hours of restoration and cleaning. It’s beautiful. And sure, those gemstones inside must cost a fortune, but Amanda interjects with the real question on everyone’s mind…

“Cool name… but what’s so special about it?”

“According to 18th century documents, the _Core_ is a one of a kind navigation tool using a rotating star chart by adjusting the date on the base.” Ursula flicks to the next slide showing a new angle of the underside of the orb displaying the rotating rings that make up the bronze stand. “The turning rings manipulate the layers of crystal, moving the cut gems…” Looking puzzled, Lotte opens her mouth but Ursula pauses her with a thoughtful look. “Now, yes, as it is it seems like a challenge to see being used as any type of helpful… however, when a light is shined into the base it acts as a projector, channeling the light through the crystal layers to bounce off and be taken in by the angles of the gemstones, it produces an accurate recreation of the stars positioning.”

“So… kind of like those starry night lights?” Akko asks curiously, eliciting snickering from Sucy and Amanda.

“It’s close. But this is a meticulous piece of architecture.” Ursula continues as she flips back to the previous slide focusing on the globe as a whole. “The craftsmanship, the mathematical knowledge, and the understanding of the world’s axis rotation all together in this once piece… It’s rumored to be able to create the stars above on the undersides of clouds if given enough light, allowing those at sea to always know their way.”

_‘That’s gotta be pretty cool looking… with all the gems and stuff.’_ Akko thinks. _‘How would it work though? I’m not good at that math stuff…’_

“Now, we don’t know who crafted it or precisely what year it was made, though it is theorized to have been made between 1706 and 1720… What we _do_ know is that Colton Atherton is in possession of the _Core_ as well as many other pieces retrieved out of the remains of the _Sentier de Dante_.” Ursula skips ahead a couple slides until she reaches a picture of a middle-aged man in a slick suit and a well-groomed composure. “Colton Atherton is upper management in the Ressit Medical Center in Northern Staffs and has evidently been siphoning cash assets from the hospital for the last four of the six years he has been in his position.” Ursula flicks to the next slide showing a collage of financial statements and points to one of the highlighted bits that seem to be on each sheet. “The hospital, seemingly unaware, has been paying a ghost supplier over the last four years which has been sending a check to a PO Box in Atherton’s name. This money appears to be put to use by funding exploration teams to find maritime memorabilia to add to his collection, including the recent acquisition of the _Sentier de Dante’_ s findings.”

Now, Akko’s a thief and has been one for a very good amount of time, but this guy… stealing money from a small-town hospital? Nah. That kind of thieving disgusts her, and she doesn’t feel one bit badly about nicking this _Core_ from this dude’s collection.

“Atherton lives in East Cheshire,” Ursula continues, “Which is also the location of the Maritime Archives and Collection Museum where Atherton’s current pieces are on display. He is moving many of the older pieces to be displayed around the colleges by the coast to make room for the new _Cœur Croyant_ exhibit at the Museum.” Ursula then flicks the slideshow forward to another picture of the _Core of the Universe_ ’. “The new exhibit is supposed to be opened at the beginning of next month, leaving three weeks for the old pieces to be transferred to the colleges and for the new pieces to be installed. The _Core_ and the rest of the findings are being stored at Atherton’s archaeologist’s lab in Cornwall until the date of the move.”

“Should we try to nab this thing before it gets to the museum?” Amanda asks leaning forward on the couch.

“That was my thought.” Ursula answers before turning to the screen and clicking to the end of the presentation. “It might be our safest option to intercept it while the pieces are in transit, but there are several ways we could run this. We are going to need more information before we can start planning anything…We should start with the museum schematics from The National Archive as well as those for the lab… and some foot patrol for both. Anyone have a preference?” The blue haired woman asks looking around curiously.

“I’ll hit up the Museum.” Amanda says standing from the couch and stretching her back with a yawn. “I was meaning to head to Cheshire at some point anyway. Who wants to back me up and join me for a three-and-a-half-hour drive?”

* * *

Three and a half hours later, Amanda and Akko arrive in East Cheshire and make their way down the store-lined street leading towards the Museum.

By the end of their meeting, it was settled that Akko and Amanda would case the museum, Sucy and Jasminka would look over the lab, and Lotte and Constanze would work on obtaining the architectural plans and financial records. They all kind of just assume that Ursula is between grading papers and researching at all times because they all know once they get back to the Tutoring House she’ll somehow have a new presentation ready.

Akko doesn’t know how she does it… balancing her own two lives _as well as_ managing to somehow wrangle the six of them...

Akko adjusts the dark red beanie on the top of her head as she and Amanda banter in conversation about past jobs, hearsay, funny internet videos and the like. As they make their way through town passing a collection of different shops, Akko’s eyes wander, looking for cameras, people, fancy baubles, and the like and she can’t help but notice how many _‘Hiring_!’ signs sit in the windows and ‘ _Looking for work?_ ’ fliers are posted to telephone poles and stuck to the brick of storefronts.

It’s not the first time Akko has seen these signs and allowed herself to imagining what it would be like to have a normal, honest, _acceptable_ kind of job. One that would mean she could have a safe, normal life… with a modest income… and no lingering thought about counting down her hours…

As far as history goes though, that kind of work and Akko didn’t really mesh. The last job she had that wasn’t thieving or working a grift was back when she was thirteen and she worked at the very convenience store she had stolen from. She doubts she’d get a glowing recommendation…

And there’s no way she can put: ‘Glenn Reeder 27-34 vault crack time of 8.34 minutes’ as a resume buffer…

It’s not like she doesn’t think she could figure the job out… and she does have the resources to make one hell of a fake resume… but what kind of job would she go for? She’s got a little bit of a college education. Mostly just the general education courses because she wasn’t sure what to try to major in… but she could always go back and finish her degree… maybe? But everything seems so boring in comparison to what she’s become used to and reliable at over the years. And what about her family?

Ursula and all the girls in their rag tag team of thieves have been cemented as her family. After getting abandoned by her mother and father and winding up in an orphanage in Hampshire (where she had first met Sucy), she determined that blood does not make family. Family doesn’t leave and never come back.

Would she be able to come back to her family if she went onto a path for a “normal” life? If she’s not working with them would she still be allowed to see everybody? Would that put her or her family in danger? Or would she be left out because any job they do doesn’t include her? A huge part of the job is to keep secrets and make sure loose ends remain at a minimum… would telling her anything make her a liability?

Her family is everything to her… but where does that leave her if she ever wanted a ‘normal’ life?

“I’m tellin ya, I could have run that ruby job faster with my eyes closed.” Amanda says with a sure-minded haughtiness as the two of them continue their conversation moving through the town. “I coulda done that in seventy-three seconds TOPS.”

“You factor in that sprained wrist?” Akko reminds her cheekily.

“Hey.” Amanda eyes her. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am cast-free and ready for throwin’ hands Kagari.” She says as she waves her cast-less arm in front of her friend. “But I won’t… because I pity you. And most definitely not because it’s still tender.”

Akko laughs, followed by a humored snort from her friend.

“I swear, I’m gonna make sure Halley’s tended to and cared for like the queen she is. I have learned my lesson.” Amanda declares, referring to her harness gear which she had affectionately named after Halley’s comet. She was lax checking on her harness gear a few jobs back, and so, didn’t realize that some of her equipment was in need of replacing until she freefell slightly more than she was prepared for. “These jobs have been fun, but I can’t wait to _really_ get back into action.”

Akko smiles at her friend before her eyes get drawn to yet another shop window with a big sign announcing ‘We’re hiring!’. Akko’s face sobers in thought for a moment before looking at Amanda curiously.

“Hmm… You ever think of what you’d do after this?” Akko asks.

“I dunno…” Amanda shrugs. “Probably hit up the club for a bit…”

“No,” she shakes her head. “I mean… say you couldn’t get back to doing what we’re doing… like being a thief…” Akko starts, earning a serious arched brow from the redhead. “What do you think you’d do after this?”

Amanda takes a breath and scrunches her brow in thought. She is quiet for a few moments before turning to face the brunette earnestly. “Yanno… I haven’t really thought about it... To be honest, I kinda thought I’d be caught already.” She says scratching the back of her neck. “I figure making those kinda plans in this line of work is just askin’ for disappointment.”

Akko hums understandingly. “But say you could choose _anything_ … what would you want to do?”

“Something exciting I guess.” Amanda responds pinching her brow in thought. “I mean… the reason I do this is because of the thrill. Hell, if I was told to sneak back into the places I got out of to return everything I’ve ever stolen, that would be just fine. The money’s a nice perk, but you know it ain’t why I’m here...” She shrugs before smirk and a glint of light flashes in her eyes. “Besides, I’m pretty good at it…” Amanda says cheekily as she pulls out a gold wrist watch that she had slipped off someone who passed a few minutes back. With a calm pride in her chest, she places the watch back into her pocket before looking curiously towards the brunette mulling over her answer. “Why do you ask?”

Akko shrugs. “I dunno… Don’t you ever just wonder what it would be like to have a ‘normal’ life?” She says with her fingers in air quotes. “You see everybody around us working…doing jobs… but… if it were me… if I wasn’t doing _this_ I wouldn’t know what I’d want to do…”

Amanda pauses for a moment to think. “Well… I guess ‘normal’s what you make of it, right? Nobody’s ‘normal’ is exactly the same…and if it were, I’m not so sure that’s how I’d want to live, you know?” The redhead looks over to the nodding brunette with a concerned, yet compassionate expression. “But if you’re not happy with where you’re at…”

“Huh? Oh! No!” Akko’s eyes shoot open as she flails her arms around. “It’s not like that!”

Amanda lets out a soft laugh, still studying her friend.

“I just think about it…” Akko says with the shrug of her shoulder and a slight shake of her head. “If I grew up different… if I didn’t get in trouble and owe people money… would I still be here? Or would I be…” She looks around and quickly points to the sign on the building beside them. “Would I be working at Timtime Marketing Firm or something?”

Amanda hums unsurely.

“I don’t know. I can’t help but think about if there’s something different for people like us after living like this.”

Amanda continues her response of thoughtful humming before turning to the brunette with an amusing lilt to her voice “Well… if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my _extensive_ life of _successful_ and _tactfully_ performed crime…” she pauses and turns her tone genuine, “If you want something, you gotta work to get there and then you have to _TAKE it_. Might be a bit hard to do something different, but if you find something you really want, you’ll figure it out.” Amanda smiles. “And while it doesn’t make sense to me… if that means you wanna work at some shoddy looking marketing firm, go for it.”

Akko giggles at the redhead who then slaps her on the shoulder. She eases her laugh and her expression turns soft. “Ah, maybe one day, but I’m not going anywhere soon… Besides…” Her smile then morphs into a mischievous grin as she lifts her hand up before her dumbstruck friend, holding the golden watch that she had just plucked from her pocket. “I’m too good at this to leave now.”

* * *

Several minutes more of conversation and the two turn the corner to find themselves within sight of the Maritime Archives and Collection Museum. Walking closer, the two pull out their phones and just as they case all the potential playgrounds for their jobs, the two girls get to work documenting entrances and exits, windows, exterior cameras on and around the building, noting potential for scaling for roof access, security detail, blind spots, and anything else they can determine from the outside trying to look as unassuming as possible. Eventually, once Constanze and Lotte come back with a copy of the building’s plans, they will go over everything they noticed, and switch up with who will case the interior, eliminating any possibility for repetitive faces.

Akko generally enjoyed casing new jobs. It used to be a little overwhelming with determining what is actually relevant out of everything she’s seeing, but now after Amanda and Ursula’s mentoring and the years of experience, she knows exactly what she’s looking for. There’s a complete possibility that they won’t even need the information on the museum, but still, it’s better to be prepared than not to. 

They continue around, taking note of any landscape cover, types of locks, employee parking – finding that at least one member is a retiree or a relative of a retiree from the Royal Navy, all while holding conversation about anything but burglary. Just two normal girls walking around town.

As they continue casing, Amanda tries to near herself to the shrubbery surrounding the building to get a picture of one of the rear security cameras. Suddenly an employee leaves out of the exit, startling the two of them just before questioning their business. Perhaps even more confidently than it would have been if it were the truth, Amanda begins to babble on about bird watching, even pulling up photos on her phone from a folder she has saved for just these kinds of instances. The interaction ends shortly after Amanda begins chastising the man for scaring away a rare ring ouzel with his haphazard door opening before she could get a picture. Akko steps in and starts guiding Amanda away as she apologizes to the tired looking man already turning to leave, “Sorry! She’s just really into birds. Have a nice rest of your day!” all while noting the time of the worker’s shift close.

The two of them walk off, laughing quietly once out of earshot, to continue their tour of the perimeter, jotting down notes and observations.

After taking a few discreet pictures and jotting down the last of their findings, the two head away from the museum and continue their walk back through the town, quietly comparing notes.

“I mean… the place doesn’t seem to be impenetrable… We’ve gotten through worse.” Amanda says confidently as she keeps stride with the brunette.

“It looks like there was a lot of foot traffic though… that parking lot was full…” Akko mentions as she scrolls through her notes. “I guess if everybody decides to pull the heist at the museum, we’ll have to get a better read on employees and shifts.”

“I’m kinda hoping we can do it while it’s being transported.” Amanda smiles, cracking her knuckles.

Akko just shakes her head. “I’d rather not see you turned into a road pancake… thank you very much.”

“What? Jas’ been dying to drive for another high-speed grab and I lived the first time.” She says as though that makes it any less risky. “I pity you. You clearly haven’t felt the wind on your face from the top of a speeding semi.”

Akko rolls her eyes with a half-smile. Yeah, she might be a bit of an adrenaline seeker and has had her fair share of dangerous gigs, but Amanda takes her need for excitement to a _whole new level_.

“Oh hey. I gotta stop by CrossTech before we head back.” Amanda says, snapping her fingers as though just remembering why she volunteered to drive up to East Cheshire in the first place. “It’s the closest branch and Conz asked if I could pick up a ‘VII Roomba’ for her.”

“A… Roomba?” Akko squints at her.

“I dunno dude…” Amanda shrugs. “She was looking for egg beaters last week too, I just deliver.”

“I mean, yeah. Sure.” Akko says scratching at her chin as the two of them start to cross the street heading towards the electronic store. No reason not to do a little shopping now that their work is done. “I wonder what she’s making.”

“Beats me. I can’t keep track of her ideas anymore.” Amanda laughs.

For as long as Akko’s known her, Constanze was always working on _something_. While she is a master hacker in her own right, her attraction to building and creating has proved beyond useful to their thieving lifestyle. Just to name a few of the more important of her creations – the modified CrossTech VR head gear they use to simulate jobs, wireless feed bugs, button cams, and the extra sensitive communication ear pieces – are used in most of their jobs. She also takes on the responsibility of building obstacles and other training tools to ensure the rest of them are physically prepared for whatever the job at hand will be.

Crawling through a vent silently is a lot harder and far more physically taxing than most people might realize… it can take quite a bit of time to master… having a maze of vents on site to practice with definitely helps with efficiency and speed.

The girl’s a genius. Mechanically and technologically speaking. And without her, just about every aspect of this job would be exponentially harder. So… if the girl wants a roomba, she’s going to get a roomba.

They walk a few blocks through town and finally arrive at the glass storefront with the blocky bolded words ‘CROSSTECH’ frosted on the windows. Two large monitors behind the glass display advertisements for its newest product, the ‘SSS: Smart Storage System’. From what Akko can gather from the advertisement of the company founder, Croix Meridies, going over the product, it is a miniature power generator that collects charge from its environment without having to be plugged into a wall or run off fuel. The example on the screen shows a balloon being rubbed against carpeting and then being held a slight distance from the hardware which then lights up and displays its charge increase. The ad continues on listing that it’s safe around cell reception and wifi, resistant to overcharge, 96 hours of use if not being charged simultaneously, and a whole bunch of blah blah schematics that simply become unreadable to Akko as they flash across the screen’s subtitles.

“Aight. I’ll be right back.” Amanda says as she heads towards the store doors, leaving Akko outside still staring at the television. “Don’t do nothin naughty without me.” She says with a wink before entering the building.

Akko rolls her eyes with a jokingly disappointed snap of her fingers, still watching the television as the ad restarts itself, showing Meridies’ face yet again against a grey background. Akko’s not the brightest, but no way is she dumb enough to steal anything near this building, no sir…

She looks up above the television towards her reflection on the omni view security camera. Nope. Everything in and around this place is highly monitored and reinforced by CrossTech technology. Even if she were to pickpocket someone across the street she would be seen, recorded, and the footage could easily be enhanced in enough detail to run facial recognition, based on Constanze’s findings from her research of CrossTech’s security system capabilities.

Croix Meridies, as said in countless articles and press releases, is a prodigy. Over the last 10 years she had built up CrossTech from nothing. All inventions and programs are her own, even the machines used to assemble her products are among her own creations. CrossTech’s mission statement is all about wielding the future and enabling all access experiences and security through technology… a sentiment Constanze highly respects.

The young inventor had spent a lot of time studying and tweaking CrossTech products and still to this day, very much of it proves to be quite the puzzle to her. There is an admiration to the intricacies and innovation put into Meridies’s creations, and so, Constanze recognizes and praises quality where it is due. And _that_ is why only the finest parts in roomba technology are needed for her newest creation.

Over the last 5 years or so CrossTech branches have popped up all over Europe selling entertainment, security, and tons of other technologies. Croix Meridies was even a speaker at Blytonbury’s graduation a couple years back talking about achievement and all that other motivational stuff.

To Akko, she seemed like a very very smart lady. Her motivations generally seem honest and she has yet to see any scandal or underhanded business being done… so… that’s pretty good in her book.

‘ _I wonder what working for her would be like…’_ Akko muses knowing full well the vocabulary involved in the job alone would stump her.

About 10 minutes later and another replay of the SSS ad, Amanda walks out of the storefront with a medium sized VII Roomba box as she jams her change into her pocket and exchanges it for her phone. “Yo. So. I just got a text from Barbara saying that blondie wanted to meet up with you.” 

Akko’s eyes perk up, clearly surprised. “What? Really? When?”

_‘Diana wants to meet up with me??’_

Amanda’s expression flattens. “Dude… you said she pointed a _gun_ at you! Do you really want to see this chick again?”

“Well… it was a _fake_ gun.” Akko reminds her sheepishly.

“You’re crazy.” The redhead rolls her eyes as she begins walking down the sidewalk with Akko jogging to catch up.

“Says the girl who wants to jump a semi.” Akko eyes her friend, earning a pout from the redhead.

_‘I guess Amanda might have a point with the gun thing though… I mean, **I** don’t think the last time went super great… BUT maybe it did! Maybe she’s into that… hostage… stuff…eh…’_

“What if she changed her mind about the _Silver Hound_ , huh?” Akko reasons. “Or maybe she needs help?” 

“Or maybe it’s a set up?” Amanda warns.

“I don’t think so.” Akko shakes her head, wracking her brain for reasons why the blonde would want to meet up with her. “Ask her if meeting up at Moose Tracks for coffee will work? _It’ll be safe._ ”

‘ _Besides, SHE’S the one who has the stolen statue. What would she even rat on us for?’_

Amanda sets her jaw and looks at her friend with concern, weighing the consequences. She slightly shakes her head at her friend’s excitement before taking a deep breath with the roll of her eyes. “Pshh. Whatever. If you want to walk into a trap, do it yourself.” She says as she tosses her cellphone to the brunette.

_‘YES!’_

“Trust me, it’s going to be fine.” Akko smiles successfully as she opens Amanda’s phone to Barbara’s text message.

‘ _Hey it’s Barbara. Diana wanted me to ask if she could meet up with your friend from a few weeks ago. Let me know asap. Also, Hannah says don’t mess it up.’_

Akko bites her lip, holding back a smile as she types up her response and pauses to reread. 

_‘Hi! It’s Akko. I’d love to! I know this cute little place called Moose Tracks Café if she wants to meet up for coffee?’_

Happy with her message, she presses send and the text is sent on its way.

“So… what is this thing between you and this girl?” Amanda questions, suspiciously eyeing the brunette who is looking positively giddy. “You actually like her?”

“Wha?” Akko looks up, a slight blush on her cheeks. “N– ah… I barely know her!”

Yeah, Diana Cavendish is a very attractive woman and based on her success in sneaking the _Silver Hound_ away before they could notice, she and Akko have at least SOME shared interests… but aside from the fake alias she met in the museum and fake-gun wielding girl in shorts…in actuality, she knew next to nothing about her.

Sure, it would have been easy to look her up online… and while the thought had crossed her mind soon after their confrontation at the house, it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do. She’s not a mark… Akko was just curious… and that’s no reason to dig into someone’s past. There is a big difference between research and stalking, and Akko is NOT a stalker.

But that doesn’t mean if given this type of chance she wouldn’t want to get to know her a little better…

“Ah… it’s just nice meeting new people you know? And it makes it kinda hard to do… doing what we do.” Akko says honestly.

“And _dangerous_ , Akko…” Amanda responds almost apologetically. “Especially with someone who knows what we do.”

“I guess…” Akko shrugs, scrunching her brows in thought. “But I just have this feeling… she didn’t look like any of the other thieves and criminals we’ve met… she’s not after greed… or the rush...” She pauses. “She looked desperate…”

“And I repeat myself. And _dangerous,_ Akko. People do crazy shit when they’re desperate...”

“I know… it just… feels like she’s not supposed to be doing what she’s doing… if that makes any sense.” Akko continues, scratching her cheek. “She’s interesting…. And _absolutely_ a player. Hell, she got that statue from right under our noses! I’m just saying, it might be nice to talk in neutral territory. Maybe make a friend.”

“If you’re sure, dude. I trust you. I know you’re good at the grift and I’ve seen you get out of way tighter spaces….” Amanda says as she forces a worried smile. “Just don’t let your guard down.” Amanda says before slapping Akko in the shoulder with her free hand.

Akko smiles at her. “Don’t worry, I won’t.” Her smile then turns teasing “You getting soft? I don’t remember you being so protective.”

“Wha? Protective? Go get kidnapped for all I care.” The redhead retorts jokingly, blowing a raspberry with her lips. “You want Conz and I to tag along?”

“No! Thank you.”

“Psh… fine.” Amanda shrugs, continuing to walk. “Just bring me back a donut.”

* * *

Four hours later – after the return drive and stopping for a quick dinner, Amanda and Akko walk through the doors of their respective apartments.

“You’re back late.” Sucy says with a frown as she looks at the clock reading 10:23pm. “Dinner’s in the microwave, I made mushroom soup.” 

“How’d the museum go?” Lotte asks, sitting on the couch beneath her blanket, temporarily lowering the newest book of the Nightfall series and marking her page with her thumb. “Constanze and I got the blueprints and the architecture inside is very interesting.”

“Eh, the outside looked easy enough.” Akko shrugs before turning to Sucy. “How was the lab?”

“Fine. Smells like ocean.” Sucy responds dully as she throws herself on the couch beside Lotte, tucking her feet beneath her blanket. “Look’s like he’s got a pretty big staff there… but the loading dock’s pretty accessible. Somebody might be able to walk right in and not get caught as long as they have a lab coat on.”

“Hm.” Akko hums, imagining herself in a scientific lab coat flapping in the breeze, strolling out the rear of the loading dock with the crystal ball in her hands. “I guess we’ll see what Ursula thinks tomorrow.” She pushes out with a yawn before realizing just how tired today had made her. “Aright, I’m gonna go get in my pajamas real fast. Thank you for dinner, Sucy!”

The pink haired girl grunts in response.

Akko heads to her bedroom and kicks off her shoes as she begins typing in the reminders section of her phone.

‘ _Diana – Moose Tracks – this Thursday at 11 – get Amanda donut’_

Soon after she and Amanda got in the car and began to head back home, Amanda’s phone buzzed with Barbara and Diana’s text response.

Akko was excited. She may have let her imagination get the better of her a little bit in thinking that it could be a weird kinda date… sorta, but hey! This was all very unexpected. She’d definitely have to be careful; she has no idea why Diana wants to meet up after all of what happened the last time they saw each other… But if there’s a chance that this could be the start of a friendship… She sure as heck isn’t going to sabotage the possibility.

Akko smiles as she takes a breath and settles onto her bed.

‘ _Oh crap. What kind of clothes do I wear for a maybe business friends ‘not-date’?’_

Before she can get herself too carried away with thinking about Wednesday night’s/Thursday morning’s problem, Akko realizes she had forgotten to e-mail Ursula her notes on the museum. She should have done it on the car ride home, however her mind was a little more focused on meeting up with Diana and panicking over Amanda’s speeding.

She pulls up her e-mail, typing in Ursula’s e-mail address and then attaches the page of today’s museum notes. She sends the notes off with a “:)” as the subject line and then falls back onto her bed for just a moment before remembering she has dinner waiting.

* * *

The ding of an e-mail notification sounds through Ursula’s laptop speaker as she sits at her desk looking intently at the screen.

Half-graded class papers lay across the desktop, seemingly forgotten, as the anthropology professor tabs down further through a journal article that has occupied her attention. She scrolls down, her eyes taking in every word on the screen until reaching the end.

> ‘ _Croix Meridies, Founder of CrossTech Technologies concludes the press conference of her new Smart Storage System with these words: “The world around us is filled with untapped energy and potential, it’s our job as the creators of our futures to learn to harness this power to change the lives of the people in our world for the better. There is nothing more important to me than achieving this ideal, and every day we get a little bit closer._ ’

Ursula frowns, eyes concerned as she rereads the final passage before scrolling back up to the top of the article where there is an accompanying photograph of Croix Meridies in styled short lilac hair with a sharp black vest over a white shirt speaking into a microphone in front of a diagram of the SSS. Ursula’s eyes narrow, focusing closely on the woman’s face as she involuntarily bites nervously at the inside of her cheeks, searching for any sign of her best friend from so long ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmmm......... whatchu doin Ursulaaaa.
> 
> Ooof. Sorry this one took so long to get to you guys! I've actually got a three chapter buffer that I've been trying to maintain and Chapter 8 was a huge pain in my rear. Lol  
> Anyway, THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU LIKE WHATS COMING UP NEXT!!!!


	6. The Slip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few days of mental preparation, Akko meets up with Diana at the Moose Tracks café. Despite being excited for the chance to learn more about the mysterious woman who out-conned them, she can’t help but wonder: Why?

_‘Teeth and hair brushed. Check.’_

_‘Wallet. Check.’_

_‘Phone. Check.’_

_‘Keys. Check.’_

_‘Audio Jammer.’_ Akko reaches into her pocket and rolls around the compact, ultrasonic wave emitting creation that Amanda had borrowed from Constanze’s lab and insisted she bring to prevent any words from being picked up by microphone. _‘Check.’_

She supposes she couldn’t be too careful…

Akko recounts her belongings as she makes her way to her and Diana’s meet destination, Moose Tracks Café. It seemed like no time at all had passed since she (well, technically Amanda…) got the text message from Diana (technically Barbara…) asking to meet up. It was just suddenly Wednesday night and there Akko was digging through her closet in a panic about what to wear.

She has to say she is happy with her decision of grey wash jeans, and a red tee under her black leather moto jacket; lately the weather had been relatively hot, but today as she speed walks down the sidewalk to the café she finds herself shaded by cloud cover and surprised with a chill from the slight breeze.

She hopes it won’t rain, but by the look of the heavy and dark clouds rolling in from the distance she would not be surprised if she had to run back to her car at the end of this meet up.

She’s nervous. And that is why, she believes, the week had taken no timely detours getting to today. Their “tutoring” sessions discussing their findings and creating an accurate map and timetable for the lab and museum for the ‘ _Core_ ’ job went by quicker than usual and it seemed like the time she was home or doing anything leisurely passed in a blink. The only thing that seemed to take forever was nearly every traffic light she had hit on her way here – and now here she was… ten minutes past 11…

_‘I’m only a little bit late… it’s fine. Maybe she hit that last light too and we’re both gonna be late! Think positive Akko, think positive!’_

Akko slows her pace as she approaches the storefront of the café. She quietly curses to herself as she looks through the window into the neutral toned shop seeing the head of blonde hair sitting alone sipping at lip of a sealed cup and looking boredly at her phone.

‘ _Ah crap. I hope she didn’t wait long...’_

Even though they had a bad first _and second_ impression on each other, Akko finds herself a little unsure on why she’s so worried about the outcome of this meet. Sucy always tells her that she is “grossly optimistic”, but she really does hope that whatever this is works out!

Akko likes people, she always has. She likes talking to them, she likes learning about them, and she likes entertaining them. Her job of being a grifter is perfect for her in that aspect. Yes, there’s generally some ulterior motive involved, but still…

She likes what she does.

But this… this is different. The last time she went out to meet someone _using her ‘real’ name_ was in college when she recruited Lotte. She had to explain to the redhead that the name she went by in class, Hana Yoshinari, was an alias. That admission hadn’t phased Lotte one bit, it only stoked her interest in the reason why Akko needed the alias in the first place.

Diana though… she was hypocritical on her reaction to being a thief, yet, she is the one who set up this meeting whereas she was given the chance on never having to see her again. It’s confusing. But Akko can’t help but be hopeful. While it could go either way, she really hopes that today will end with a new friend. 

But if it seems like it’s not meant to be, at least there won’t be any recorded audio evidence of their conversation...

_‘Okay, Akko let’s do this!’_ She straightens her back and mentally prepares herself.

With a deep breath, Akko turns and pushes open the door to enter the café, immediately welcomed by the smell of hot coffee and fresh pastry.

“Diana?” Akko greets cheerily causing the blonde to look up from her phone. “Sorry I’m a little late. I hit that light coming into town and I swear it felt like it was red forever!” She apologizes.

A small smile crosses Diana’s lips, not quite reaching her eyes. “Hello Akko. It’s no problem, I haven’t been here long.”

“Good, good. I was a little worried.” Akko smiles sheepishly as she pulls out her seat and removes her jacket, laying it over the back of her chair.

After their greeting, Akko excuses herself to order a drink from the counter. After leaving a substantial cash tip, Akko returns to the table with her large drink in hand. 

“So what are ya drinking there?” Akko asks, plopping down in her chair looking towards the cup placed in front of the blonde. “Just so you know, this place has like…the _best_ hot chocolate ever.”

Diana smiles, this time a little less tightly than she had previously as she places her phone down on the table. “Is that so? I’ll keep that in mind.” She says before absentmindedly touching her fingers to the cup. “For now, I’ve just got Earl Grey and lemon.”

“Nice. It… smells nice.” Akko smiles as she scratches the back of her head, starting to feel a little awkward as she watches the blonde nod quietly in response.

For a moment, the two sit quietly with only the sound of the acoustic rock radio station playing overhead and the smell of tea and chocolate wafting between them.

‘ _Ookay… c’mon Akko. Don’t lose her now. She wanted to ask you to meet up for a reason…’_

“So… ahem…” Akko clears her throat trying to kick off the conversation, while quickly and subtly activating the audio jammer. “There’s not a fake gun pointed at me from under the table, is there?” She says quietly… _mostly_ joking.

Diana’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she looks down at the table. “Ah no, there’s not.” The blonde says before looking up, pausing as she locks onto Akko’s eyes. “That’s actually why I wanted to speak with you… I wanted to apologize.”

Akko’s eyebrows raise, a little surprised. “Apologize for that?” She cocks her head. “I mean, thank you. You’re totally forgiven… but like… I get why you did it. I did kinda come to your house out of nowhere…” Akko scratches the back of her head, looking at the blonde cheerily. “You couldn’t know that I wouldn’t get crazy on you or anything. Technically its sorta like self-defense, right?”

The blonde looks at her with a slight open mouth, the apologetic look swapped out for confusion.

“It’s expected in our line of business.” Akko says proudly. “You gotta keep yourself safe.”

Diana studies the girl before her, a little unsure how her apology had just gotten rationalized away. True, she was justified in her actions the night when the brunette came to her house, but still… in extending an olive branch, apologies for a misunderstanding seemed like an appropriate formality _._

 _‘Is this really how these types of people think?’_ Diana wonders before taking hold of Akko’s words of self-preservation.

“I appreciate your understanding… still… I believe I was a little overwhelmed in the moment, so I apologize for perhaps being a little extreme.”

“It’s all good.” Akko says understandingly, waving the worry away.

“So, for my own precaution… is it safe to assume you have some contingency plan set up for our meeting?”

“Huh?”

“To keep yourself safe?” Diana lowers her voice and leans in. “In the case I did have a gun pointed to you beneath this table?”

Akko’s mouth forms a puckered smile as she studies the blonde’s eyes. “You’re very distrustful, huh?”

“I believe it is something to be earned.” The blonde says smartly.

“That’s fair. That’s fair. It wouldn’t be very smart of me to tell you my back up plans if I had any, now would it?” Akko smiles, eyeing the blonde who leans back in her chair, accepting her answer with a thoughtful nod. Akko then lifts her cup to her lips and takes a sip of her hot chocolate, humming happily as the warm liquid washes down her throat.

‘ _This… is a pretty weird meeting… but at least we’re talking! We might be on the right track if she actually wants to talk…’_

“So, now I’m curious…” Akko starts as she places the hot cocoa back down on the table and meets the blonde’s inquisitive eyes. “You have the _Hound_ , fair and square, and I have not made any attempt to try to get in contact with you since that day at your house. You could have gone the rest of your life without seeing my face again… why would you come out of nowhere and voluntarily ask to meet up? _Especially_ if you don’t trust me… coming out for an apology doesn’t make much sense.”

With a slight clench to her jaw, Diana looks at the brunette, contemplating her answer. After a moment, the blonde takes a breath and folds her hands in front of her on the table.

“Perhaps… there was some truth in what you had said that I wasn’t quite so ready to accept. About being a…” She lowers her voice, “… a thief.”

“Well yeah. Robbing a museum kinda does that to a person…” Akko chuckles.

Sharp blue eyes look up at her before falling down to folded hands. “Anyway, I figure it’d be best that there is minimal bad blood between us, in the case we cross paths again.”

“That’s a good enough answer for me!” Akko grins while grabbing her cup of hot chocolate and holding it up in a toast. “To not-so-bad acquaintances.”

The blonde squints her eyes perplexedly at the brunette before she relaxes her expression and shakes her head dismissing the confusion. “You are an interesting one.” She says before picking up her own cup and bumping it against the grinning brunette’s.

Akko brings the cup to her lips and takes a heavy sip as the blonde continues to watch her.

‘ _I can’t determine whether her cheery demeanor is her trying to lure me into dropping my guard or whether she really is just this friendly. I still can’t trust her… but I don’t get the sense that she’s trying to play me at all right now.’_

Diana lifts her tea to her lips and takes a sip, still watching the brunette from over her cup.

_‘I just need to focus on gathering information. And when the time’s righ–’_

“So… I gotta ask.” Akko says casually, interrupting Diana’s thoughts as she swirls the contents of her cup around. “What’s so special about the statue anyway? The _Silver Hound_ , I mean. It have some sentimental value to it?”

It was only for a moment, but Akko could swear she saw the blonde’s eyes sharpen before averting away towards her cup. “It’s a piece I’ve always admired.” Diana says quickly with a tone of finality. “How about you? What is your reason for doing what you do?”

Akko pauses, the brusqueness of the blonde’s answer only intriguing her further on the mystery of the seemingly simple dog statue. ‘ _She’s hiding something… but maybe now isn’t the time to find out…’_

“Ah… well…” Akko says leaning back in her chair. “Started out young trying to feed myself and as I went on, I realized I was pretty good at it. Found myself with people with common interest, learned a couple things, got myself out of trouble with what I learned, and yeah…” The brunette shrugs. “I mean… the money’s not bad… but I guess… I do it mostly because it’s familiar.”

Diana studies the girl, noticing honesty on her face and a smudge of chocolate resting on her lip. She hums.

‘ _It’s got to be a benefit that she hardly looks like a criminal…’_

“Besides,” Akko continues with a soft smile, “We try to make it a rule to only make marks out of people who wouldn’t miss their stolen valuables. Most of the things we go after are pocket change to some of these big estates and deep pockets.”

_‘So she feels justified…hm. How is it she can talk about this kind of thing so casually?’_

“I suppose it’s good to have some moral code to go by.” Diana hums as she takes another sip of tea.

“Mhm!” Akko nods as she looks at the blonde.

Akko watches, noticing that the other girl has finally allowed her stiff shoulders to relax a bit. It might just be because of the tea, but she’ll absolutely take that as a win!

‘ _This is going well! I think we’re making some headway! I feel like I’ve been talking about myself a lot though…’_

“So what got you involved?” Akko asks as she rests her cheek in her hand. “We make sure to keep track of others in the area so you must be new at it since I couldn’t recognize you...”

 _‘So she and Amanda have been involved with each other for some time then… perhaps I should look into that connection...’_ Diana makes note.

“Ah, I am new to this, yes. As for my reason… let’s just say that it had become my responsibility. Whether I wanted it or not.” The blonde looks down at her cup and then back up at the brunette looking back at her expectantly. Waiting for more.

“That’s pretty vague…” Akko says with a quirked brow. “What kind of trouble did you get yourself into?”

“Hopefully, it’s nothing you’ll have to worry about.” Diana responds curtly, calmly looking back into curious burgundy eyes, making clear that she is not planning on expanding on the subject. Akko pouts her lips and stares the blonde down.

‘ _I know she’s got no reason to trust me and she doesn’t owe me a backstory… but we’re both trying here, right?’_

“Fine.” Akko breaks her stare down with a sigh. “You can have your secrets, Miss Mystery. Did you keep your crew in the dark too?” Suddenly her eyes widen with an excited shine. “Oh!! Are you working with anybody local? Amanda and I used to have some friends in this area that we did a few jobs with. They were good guys. Well… most of them were…” She trails off with a slight troubled fog masking the sparkle that had previously been in her eyes.

Diana cocks her head, noting the sudden sour expression. “Ah, no. I’ve worked on my own to avoid any unnecessary –”

“Wait, what?!” Akko blurts out, surprising the blonde. “You’re telling me you pulled the _Silver Hound_ off _BY YOURSELF_??” Akko looks at her astounded. “How??” The brunette folds her hands in front of herself, eyes, big and filled with wonder, begging at the blonde. “Please, you gotta tell me. One thief to another. _Pleaseee._ ”

Diana sits frozen, her back straight in the seat as she looks into crimson, pleading eyes. She then jumps and worriedly looks over her shoulder towards the still empty tables around them. “Are… you certain you’re a thief? You’re awfully comfortable talking about this out loud in public… I apologize if it is a little offensive, but how have you not been caught?”

At that, Akko loses her pleading eyes and bursts into laughter. 

“Oh! No. I mean… I guess I can see why you’d say that… but no. I’m usually super good about keeping my cover, but the owner here knows me. We helped her out some time back with a job. Aves and I were old classmates.” Akko turns in her seat and waves at the woman behind the counter. The woman, with short, purple-dyed hair and a set of barrettes keeping her bangs from hanging in her face waves back at the table and continues to clean up around the counter. Akko smiles at her before turning back to face Diana. “We’re safe here. Besides, if other customers were here all ya gotta do is make it sound like you’re writing a crime novel or acting out a movie or something… Most people are quick to dismiss it.” Akko says shrugging her shoulders as she lifts her hot chocolate to her lips and takes another sip.

‘ _Besides… if you’re friends with the owner and can pay them with a nice tip to stay closed a little longer during a slightly, possibly incriminating chat, there’s no worries, right?’_

Diana continues to study the girl in front of her, suddenly on edge with the fact that this café seems to not be as neutral of ground as she had initially thought.

‘ _I suppose I should have expected as much. She did offer the location… and it seems that she is familiar with other criminals in the area… What could she have had to do for the shop owner? I suppose a café would prove as a good front if she was trying to move something… Hm… if it was a secret she wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place, right?’_

“If you don’t mind my asking, what did you have to do for her?” Diana asks quietly, nodding her head towards the purple haired woman behind the counter.

“Ah…” Akko nods her head swallowing a mouthful of chocolate before leaning in and lowering her voice. “Her ex-boyfriend had some uh… _pictures_ …and was threatening to post them around if she didn’t… uh… _do stuff_ for him…”

Diana listens, her eyebrows kneaded together in disgust.

“So we kinda hacked into his phone and computer and wiped everything having to do with her… aaaand took a couple screenshots of the things he said to her and sent them to his mother.” Akko finishes her story with a light chuckle “He was a douche. And we haven’t seen him around so I can only guess that his mommy set him straight.”

Diana looks down at her tea, a small smile on her face. She fully expected to hear something a little more… immoral. True, the break-in and hacking are hardly excusable on their own… but the _cause_ …

_‘At least they don’t seem to be heartless...’_

Diana’s mind continues to bat possibilities back and forth in her head. She brings her tea to her lips, buying herself a little more time as she feels the last of the cup’s contents pour over her tongue. By the time the last drop had gone down her throat she had made up her mind. 

_‘I truly don’t think she has anything to do with the Sons... But I can’t be sure.’_

“Excuse me, I’m going to grab another cup of tea. Would you like anything?” Diana says as she pushes out her seat and rises with empty cup in hand.

Akko lifts her cup and swirls it around, gauging how much room-temperature chocolate she has left inside. “Nah. I’m good, thanks.” A sweet smile crosses Akko’s face before her eyes light up with an idea. “Unless you maybe want to split a cookie with me?”

“A cookie?” Diana clarifies with slight bewilderment in her tone.

‘ _A cookie and hot chocolate? Seriously?’_

“Only if you’ll share with me!” The brunette grins before she reaches into her pocket and pulls out some money. “My treat!”

Diana looks at the money being offered to her and shrugs. “Alright.”

“Your pick!” Akko continues to smile as the blonde takes the money from her hand. “They’re all delicious!”

Diana lets a brief humored smile come across her face before she grabs her things and turns to head towards the counter to order.

As Diana leaves, Akko allows her eyes to follow her for just a moment before turning back to the table.

‘ _Okay. So far so good! And I didn’t make a fool out of myself! Take that Sucy!’_ Akko smiles victoriously to herself. _‘I wish we weren’t talking all work stuff though… there’s gotta be something else we have in common...’_

Akko reaches into her pocket and fishes out her phone. She presses her thumb to the screen and then types in her password, unlocking the phone to the sight of two notifications from Amanda.

‘ _Hope your date’s going well. Lemme know if you need the cavalry. – AO’ – 11:23am_

_‘Ps. Don’t forget my chocolate donut – AO’ – 11:25am_

Akko rolls her eyes with a blush.

She knows Amanda’s just joking around but the teasing does strike a sour chord in her. She looks up towards the blonde at the counter as she is giving Avery her order. Akko can’t stop herself from thinking that the blonde girl really is very pretty. The way her hair is tied back in a long ponytail, the soft cheeks and angled jaw… not to mention she was fit as all get out… Yeah, her personality is a little lacking but by the way their conversation has been going and the fact that she took all of her belongings with her to get a refill of her tea, it’s pretty obvious that she’s being cautious and closed off because of lack of trust. She couldn’t blame her… but she’s sure if Diana gave her a chance they’d have plenty to talk about!

She lets her eyes linger on Diana for a moment longer before averting back to her phone as the blonde turns away from the counter, cookie and tea in hand.

She wishes that things could be easy… that there was the slightest chance that their first meeting could have led to a ‘get to know you better’ meet up instead of this sort-of peace treaty meeting. But no.

‘ _It is how it is…’_ Akko lets out a resigning sigh as she slips her phone back into her pocket and makes a mental note for Amanda’s request; she had, in fact, forgotten about the donut.

As Diana approaches the table, she holds out the cookie towards Akko. “Is chocolate chip alright?”

Akko grins cheerily as she takes the cookie from the blonde’s hand. “It’s perfect! You can’t beat the classics! Thank you.”

A soft smile crosses Diana’s lips before suddenly fading to neutral. Business as usual. “You’re welcome.” She says as she turns to head to her seat.

Suddenly Akko feels her chair jerk beneath her as Diana’s foot catches on the leg of her seat and sends her tripping forward.

Mid fall, the blonde catches herself on the back of the brunette’s chair to steady herself, but not before her hot tea breaks free from its cup, splattering to the floor and dribbling over her hand. Diana hisses in pain and alarm, dropping the cup.

“Oh shoot! Are you okay?” Akko jumps up from her seat and moves to steady the blonde before noticing the other girl’s burning hand. “Crap!” Akko turns, pulling the napkins off the table and pushing them into Diana’s hands, blotting at them.

Diana winces, taking the napkins and fanning her hand to dispel the burning sensation.

Luckily the tea wasn’t scalding; she hardly thinks it would leave any real damage, but still, it burns like hell. She takes a quick breath to quell herself before looking over towards the brunette who had run over to the woman at the counter for a wet towel. 

‘ _Oh nooooo! Crap crap crap. Of COURSE something like this has to happen! God, c’mon universe! If I’m not supposed to be friends with this girl can’t you just say it nicely!? Hhhhhhhh this is the worst day ever!’_ Akko panics as she takes the towel Avery had prepared and turns back towards the blonde.

She returns with the chilled towel as Diana blows cool air at her hand. “Here, this’ll help.” The brunette says worriedly as she lays the damp towel over the blonde’s reddened hand.

Diana instantly feels the relief of the cool towel being wrapped around her hand and lets out a calming breath. “Th-thank you.” She says shyly meeting the worried crimson eyes of the girl tending to her. She grants the brunette an appreciative smile.

“You think you’ll be okay?” Akko asks nervously as her fingers press gently holding the wrapped towel around Diana’s hand.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Diana says with a reassuring smile as the pain from the burning slowly fades to dull tenderness. “Thank you for this…” She says softly moving her wrapped hand.

“Okay…” Akko looks at her unsurely before seemingly realizing that she had been holding onto the other girl’s hand a little longer than she needed to. “Ah, oh. Um. Sorry. Uh…” She stutters, a light blush touching her cheeks. “H-here. You keep that wrapped up and I’m uh… I’ll clean this up.” Akko pulls away, releasing the blonde’s hand nearly pulling the towel with her, before sliding on the slick floor underfoot. She catches herself, making it look like no more than a stumble, before carefully stepping out of the tea spatter and moving towards Avery who had been approaching with a fresh towel. “I got it Avery, thank you.”

Akko takes the towels from the other woman and heads back to the table instantly dropping to her hands and knees to sop up the mess.

Diana just watches her, not expecting the kindness, the compassion…

She gently lifts the cool towel from her recovering hand to find that her watch continues to rest undisturbed on her wrist.

‘ _What am I doing? There’s no way she’s involved. It must have just been a coincidence with The Silver Hound. She’s not power hungry… she’s on the floor cleaning up my mess for Christ’s sake.’_ A pit of guilt drops to her stomach, seeds, and begins taking root. ‘ _I could stop this now… but… but… would that make me foolish? What’s to say that she’s not being used… I can’t afford to let myself be shortsighted right now. Even though she might not be involved… her people might be…’_

Diana bites at the inside of her check as she continues to watch Akko scrub away at the floor.

‘ _I’m sorry.’_

“Well… she’s probably gonna have to _really_ wash it later, but it should be good for now.” Akko says rising from her knees with the tea dampened towel and discarded cup in her hands. A smile crosses her face as she scuffs her shoe at the previously wet floor to find slick-less friction. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can get you some ice?” She says, sending another pang of guilt through Diana’s chest at the sight of her genuine concern.

“Really, it’s alright.” Diana says sheepishly. “Thank you though.”

“Okay… if you’re sure.” Akko gives her a half smile before taking a quick breath and pushing away her worry to the back of her mind. “Ah. I’m gonna go wash my hands real quick and then we’ll split that cookie, okay?”

Diana nods her head with a small laugh. “Okay.”

The artificial excitement on the brunette’s face turns into a genuine bloom of happiness at the sound of the blonde’s laugh.

‘ _Was that a real laugh? That was a real laugh! That was like… the first one I’m pretty sure! Oh! Okay! Maybe today isn’t the worst day ever! Okay!’_

A light blush sits in Akko’s cheeks as she turns to return the towels to Avery.

Diana notices her stop for a few words with the woman at the counter before making a light jog for the restroom.

Diana rounds the table and takes her seat, placing her bag on the ground and returning her jacket to the back of her chair. She unwraps the once cool towel and looks down into her hands. It was only a slight burn, soothed enough by the cool compress to hopefully stave off much inflammation. Yeah, it will probably be a little sensitive for a day or so, but she doesn’t believe it was hot enough to cause blistering.

‘ _Well this was definitely not how I expected today to go.’_ Diana sighs as she tests her finger movement.

Just then, the purple haired café owner approaches the table with a plastic cup of iced tea in her hand.

“I’m terribly sorry. Are you alright ma’am?” Avery asks with worry.

Diana looks up at the woman and offers a small smile. “Oh, yes, I’m fine. It was my own fault.”

Avery looks at her, still with mounted concern. “Are you sure?” She asks, only to be assured once more by the blonde.

“Alright.” The woman says hesitantly before placing the cup of iced tea in her hand on the table in front of the blonde. “Akko covered it.” Avery says with a smile, noticing the confused look on Diana’s face, before turning to head back to the register.

The roots from that seed of guilt threads deeper into Diana’s stomach as she watches the condensation slowly drip down the side of the plastic.

‘ _I have to. I need to… I have to follow through.’_ She sighs, trying to quell her mental disagreement before reaching her hand around the cup’s side, the coolness welcomed against her palm.

“I hope you don’t mind… I ordered you an iced tea, I didn’t know if you’d want something else that was hot…” Akko says sheepishly as she walks her way over towards the table, fanning her hands to dry.

Diana looks up to meet her and smiles at her graciously. “You really didn’t have to. But thank you.”

“Eh, I hope you like it. Avery makes it from scratch.” Akko shrugs as she returns the smile and plops into her seat. “I promise I didn’t poison it or anything.” She laughs. However, her laugh is cut short as she notices the blonde’s eyes widen.

“Oh my god, no! No. That was a joke! I’m sorry. No. I promise, I would never! Why did I say that?!” Akko bumbles around in her panic for a few moments before speedily reaching across the table to grab at the cup of iced tea and taking a big gulp of the liquid, swallowing, and then gasping with open mouth to show that it went down. “See! Nothing to worry about! Heh, sorry! I don’t know why I said that! I–”

“Akko.”

Her panic is stalled and her lips zipped at the sound of the blonde’s firm voice calling her name. Crimson eyes look widely at the other woman.

Diana follows suit by taking the iced tea from Akko’s hand and bringing it to her lips for a swig. It’s a little too sweet for her liking, but she couldn’t say it wasn’t refreshing. Diana swallows the liquid and calmly places the cup back down on the table. “I believe you.” She says holding the brunette’s gaze.

Akko lets out the breath she was holding in a nervous laugh as she relaxes herself in her seat. “Heh. Okay. Good. Ahem.” She says, scratching the back of her neck before being overwhelmed with the need to explain herself further. “Just– just know that _that’s_ not what we do… what _I_ do. I mean… the only time I’ve done anything like that was when I saw this guy dropping something into some girl’s drink at the club, but I didn’t slip him anything bad, just a laxative… that doesn’t kill anybody, right?”

Diana just stares at her. Based off the stories she’s heard today the girl almost sounds like a vigilante if not for the art theft and suspicion for conspiracy.

“I understand… and I believe you.” Diana clarifies again, this time allowing a comforting smile to grace her features.

At last, Akko allows herself to decompress.

‘ _I never ramble like that when I’m on a job! How am I worse at being me than I am at all these made up people!? Geez Akko, get it together!’_

Akko gives the blonde a sheepish smile before clearing her throat. “Okay… cool… uh. How about we get into this cookie hm?” She says hoping desperately to get away from the fool she had just made of herself.

“I promise I didn’t poison it while you were washing your hands.” Diana says with a playful smile causing the brunette to pause her reach to the treat. “Joking.”

Akko squints at her with pursed lips as a blush rushes her cheeks.

‘ _Oh. So she DOES have a sense of humor.’_

“Oh? Well joke’s on you. I’ve been taking small doses of poison over time to build immunity. So hah!” Akko says jokingly.

Mostly.

It’s less her _taking_ small doses and more Sucy _force feeding_ her small doses.

But Diana laughs… so she will happily take the disbelief as a win.

With ease, Akko snaps the cookie in two and hands Diana her piece before taking a bite.

Even though Diana had her thoughts about the girl ordering sweet after sweet, by the first bite she had to admit, this cookie was baked to perfection.

They sit in silence for a moment savoring the chocolatey treat, Akko washing it down with a gulp of room-temperature chocolate as Diana slowly chews, enjoying every bite.

“So…” Akko says swallowing the last of her cookie, “Still no chance you’ll tell me how you got that statue before us?” She looks at her with hopeful eyes.

Not really having the heart to remain so cold to the girl who had only displayed kindness to her, Diana answers her in kind.

“A magician never reveals her secrets.” She says with a cheeky shrug eliciting a drawn-out sigh of disappointment from the brunette.

After a long moment Akko grumbles. “Fiiiineeeeeee. As a fellow magician I have no choice but to respect your tricks.”

“You do magic tricks?” The blonde looks at her inquisitively.

“Well yeah! It’s all sleight of hand!” Akko grins before pulling out a quarter from her pocket and then proceeding to make it disappear and reappear in her hands. “It’s how I started out before pickpocketing people. I was a street performer to try to get some extra cash.”

Diana looks at her incredulously. “Is there anything you’re involved in that isn’t tied to criminal activity?”

* * *

For the next half-hour the two carry on conversation a little more freely than they had earlier in their meet. The subject of thieves and jobs were hardly brought up again after Diana declined to offer an explanation to her process in the Meriliad heist. While they didn’t divulge in too much personal information, some interests and pastime stories did make their way to the surface in conversation.

Akko isn’t sure what exactly happened to make the blonde open up a little more with her, but she found the more Diana told about herself, the more she wanted to hear. How she speaks, the pull of her face in each expression, her laugh… just… wow, her laugh, makes Akko fill with more and more hope that she’ll be able to spend more time with her.

At the start of their meet is seemed slim to none that anything would come of it… but now…

Akko _really_ hopes that they can be friends.

Once the café begins to slowly fill with patrons (Avery had to open for business at some point!) Akko and Diana collect their things and head out to leave. As they step outside, Akko looks up and is happy to see that the overcast and threatening clouds seem to have blown through. Though, it is still a little windy so she pulls her moto jacket closed with a zip.

She looks over to Diana who is smiling softly at her, causing her own cheeks to lift.

“I’m glad we got the opportunity to clear the air.” Diana says. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

“I’m glad too.” Akko smiles warmly before her eyes turn concerned. “Are you sure your hand is okay?”

“Oh. Yes, it’s fine.” The blonde says as she displays her hand with the wiggle of fingers. “Nothing to worry about.” 

“Okay. Good.” 

The two stand there for an increasingly awkward beat, neither one quite sure where the next step will lead them. At last it is Diana who breaks the silence.

“I better go. Hannah and Barbara have been trying to get a hold of me.” The blonde says as she awkwardly lifts her phone. “Good luck on your uh… next job.”

“Thanks. It’ll be a fun one.” Akko smiles. “Get home safe.”

Diana returns the other girl’s smile. “You as well.”

“I guess I’ll see you around, _not-so-bad acquaintance_!” Akko giggles.

Diana’s smile falters sadly for just a moment before forcing itself back into place.

_‘With any luck we won’t have to see each other ever again…’_

“See you.” Diana says with a small wave of her hand before turning and making her way down the sidewalk.

Taking the cue, Akko turns in the opposite direction and begins heading towards her own car.

‘ _That was a little weird at the end there… but, overall I think that went pretty well!’_ Akko thinks cheerily before reaching into her pocket to switch off the audio jammer and to pull out her phone. All replays of her and Diana’s mid-morning together are flung right out of her head as she looks at the time on her phone’s lock screen.

“Oh crap!” Her eyes widen as she picks up her pace into a jog to get back to her car.

_‘CRAP! I only have ten minutes to get back to Blytonbury for Ursula’s tutoring!!! Ah damnit I thought I had more time!’_

Quickly, Akko unlocks her phone and calls the first contact she can see. It rings for a moment before a long, drawn out “ _Hellooooooooo?”_ can be heard.

“Hey! Amanda! I’m gonna be a couple minutes late to the meeting! Please let Ursula know!”

 _“Oh? Blondie hold you up at gunpoint again? Or did things go reaaaally well? Hah!”_ Amanda’s voice laughs over the phone speaker. _“Oh! Hey! You didn’t forget my donut, did you?”_

Akko’s blood runs cold before she pivots and begins to sprint back towards the café.

* * *

Once Diana reaches her car, she takes a moment to just sit in the front seat. After a few breaths, a feeling of dread comes over her at the realization that despite the fact that everything she and Akko had spoken about _seemed_ genuine, every word could have been a lie. Actions could have been misleading… expressions doctored…

She would know.

Half-heartedly Diana begins patting herself down in the car for any trackers or listening devices Akko may have snuck on her. She had demonstrated quite well that she had extreme control over the quarter in her hand, it would be no surprise to find a bug hidden somewhere on her clothing or bag.

After checking thoroughly and coming up empty handed there is a slight relief that washes over her.

‘ _I know I’m being paranoid… I’ve always prided myself on being able to read people… but I can’t trust that what I saw in her was real. How could someone who grew up stealing from others be so genuinely kind. It doesn’t add up.’_

Her hand reaches into her bag and she fishes out her cell phone. After unlocking the phone, she swipes through screens and folders before finding what she was looking for. Her thumb hesitates over the app, guilt and frustration preventing her from pressing down.

‘ _I need to do this…’_ She grits her teeth in disappointment before letting her thumb drop and tap at the screen.

The app only takes a moment to load before a gridded map stretches across the screen following the movement of a bright red dot.

When Diana had gotten back to the table after ordering her second cup of tea, she had planned on staging a trip which would put her in the position to grab the back of Akko’s chair for support and subsequently attach a small GPS tracker beneath the folded collar of the brunette’s jacket.

The tea spill, however, was not a part of the plan. And if that had not happened and Akko’s actions following had not occurred, Diana is certain she wouldn’t be feeling nearly as guilty as she is now as she watches the red dot move down the street.

Diana picks at her fingers and bites at her lip as she continues to watch the dot. With her head churning rationale along with the reminder of her duty and the consequences of failure, her biting guilt slowly begins to fade, leaving only a heavy mist in her chest.

She takes a breath before turning off her phone and placing it back into her bag.

She just has to watch until proven otherwise. Nothing can be outside the realm of possibility until she is absolutely sure.

And no matter how much she wants to, she can’t be so foolish as to trust a thief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since the last update... I got a new job and a whole lot of life happened that tragically took my creativity hostage. HOPEFULLY, I will be able to work at a better pace now that things are starting to cool down. 
> 
> I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER AND I HOPE YOU LIKE WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT!


	7. When Stars Align

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks of planning, the girls wrap up on preparation and make their move to pull off the heist for the Core of the Universe. Even though Akko didn’t take anything extra from the hoard of treasure, she ended the day with more than she could have hoped for.

Akko shifts the uncomfortable cap on her head, taking care to avoid looking towards the loading dock’s camera. It’s only been on her head for about ten minutes, but she can already feel the indent of the hat’s seams pressed into her forehead. She knows she just has to deal with it for a little while longer but seeing how neither Jasminka nor Amanda seemed nearly as uncomfortable in the same newly acquired uniform as her gets her a little cranky. She should have gotten her hat in a size larger…

After three weeks of preparation, the transportation date of the ‘Core of the Universe’ (along with the rest of the findings from the recovered pirate ship) to the museum has arrived, and here, approaching the final leg of their race, Akko, Amanda and Jasminka stand resting against an armored truck waiting to load and drive off with their haul.

While Amanda didn’t get her high-speed truck-jumping heist, she didn’t seem overly bothered since she was instead given the chance to steal an armored car – a lifelong dream of hers.

The heist started two weeks ago. Following one of the lab technicians coming down with some nasty (but non-lethal, according to Sucy) food poisoning, the higher ups scrambled to find a temporary replacement to fill in during the shipment preparation. Very fortunately, they found a _perfect_ qualified candidate willing to work immediately with minimum hourly wage…

Sucy wasn’t too keen on working a second job, and made sure to give Akko the death glare for suggesting it, but accepted the role after everyone agreed she’d be able to navigate the laboratory environment best. On top of that, Ursula threw in the perk of free reign to pick and choose any other treasures she finds that she’d like to take a closer look at later. Despite the front of irritation, after Ursula’s addendum Sucy seemed almost excited as she took Lotte to the side to read a little more about the findings from the ship that she would look into.

As the week of preparation and monitoring continued, by the way Sucy had talked about it during daily reports it seemed like she actually _enjoyed_ ‘working’ in the lab. She seemed particularly interested in some of the equipment they’ve used for sterilization of materials and had drawn up a couple pages of notes that she had shared with Constanze for possible future additions to their in-home lab.

However, despite her avid interest in her ‘new job’, it was still a cover, and she was there for a reason.

Aside from being eyes and ears from within the lab in the case of any arrangement changes, she was integral to making this heist go smoothly with as little need for damage control as possible.

After the treasures have been inventoried and boxed, the crates would be barcoded, weighed, marked, documented, and then sealed away into a secure vault until the shipment date, making it nearly impossible to determine what items were within each without cracking open every box and digging through.

Carefully scheduled to be amongst the packing crew, Sucy eliminated this issue by discreetly marking the top of the crates containing the ‘Core of the Universe’ (and any other item that caught her interest) with three small parallel scratches after the crates have been sealed and scanned.

While it would not have been an overly large challenge to break into the vault and take what they wanted, they wanted to avoid any investigation until they were long gone, plus, there was always the possibility of someone having to check the crate’s contents before the shipment date.

The last thing they wanted was to arouse suspicion early especially since they needed Sucy to be safe and in play until the end.

As the team continued their research, they came across some documents that pointed towards Atherton’s head of exploration and head anthropologist, Doctor Edvund Herec, having a bit of a shady past in terms of being sure the working conditions of his underpaid workers are up to health and safety standards. It seems that a large sum of the money that should have been designated for PPE found its way into his own office in the form of a design renovation… so…

Deciding on making him the scapegoat of all this was all the easier. 

Through observation, they know Herec documents the weights of the crates once after the initial crating and again as confirmation before being ready to send out of the lab in a ledger, so, Sucy’s final job would be to manipulate the weight documentation after the crates had been loaded onto the truck, making it seem as though the box’s weight was less _and identical_ between loading and destination arrival.

To make this possible, earlier in the week Sucy switched out Herec’s pen for one with thermochromic ink, which, with the addition of friction, would allow her to erase and rewrite what she needs to. He keeps the ledger in his office, so at the end of the work day Sucy will break into his office, change the numbers, and say a silent goodbye to her part-time job, leaving Herec to try to explain how and why there are missing items. Likely to be followed with a new head of operations stepping into the company – hopefully one that treats their employees better. 

In the meantime, Constanze tracked down the secure transport business Atherton had hired to transport the treasures and simply rescheduled for a later date. The fun part was stealing the armored car itself…

Constanze hacked into their camera security system using her newest invention – a small remote controllable robot that can splice wires and eliminate the need for a person to risk getting caught while trying to piggyback a camera feed (affectionately named “Stanbug”) – and manipulated some schedules to be sure no one would be in the garage facility so that Akko, Jasminka, and Amanda (now with two fully functional arms) could stroll in, hot wire the truck that Constanze had “scheduled” to be out for a maintenance check, change some license plates, and drive on out towards the lab to meet up with Lotte.

Dressed in “one hell of a power suit” (courtesy of Amanda), Lotte’s role in this is as the item transfer liaison hired by Atherton in order to be sure that there is no confusion between the lab and the armored car company. At least, that’s what she told Herec.

A few minutes ago, the head anthropologist called Atherton to confirm Lotte’s story only to be swiftly intercepted by Constanze and redirected to Ursula who answers with the mimicked voice of Atherton’s assistant. She told him that Mr. Atherton is in a meeting but that she will ask him shortly, then followed by a long pause, and then with her returning to the line confirming the liaison’s reason for being there.

Satisfied with the answer, Herec’s demeanor changes to slightly more friendly before leading Lotte inside to take inventory.

Now, with all pieces in place and Lotte walking around inside the lab’s bay speaking with the scientists and taking note of crates as they are being re-weighed and signed off on, all Akko, Amanda and Jasminka can do is wait before given the go to start lifting these heavy boxes like the moving crew they’re dressed as.

While Jasminka could definitely be seen as hired muscle, Akko was a little less thrilled about seeing how heavy these crates were going to be. Even less so because it was so ridiculously hot. Much hotter than Akko had expected… however, she believes that it is only so uncomfortable because of the uniforms. She is thankful, however, that the sweat that she could feel dripping down her arms was unnoticeable through the thick dark fabric. It would be an absolute wonder to her if one of these boxes didn’t just slip out of her sweaty hands.

As they wait, Akko is able to press herself into the shade off the truck. She lowers her hat to both block the camera’s view and to shift the digging seam out of the rut it had created on her forehead before crossing her arms in front of herself.

Her eyes shift over to her friends, seeing Jasminka reach into her back pocket and pull out the oatmeal bar she had brought along with her and Amanda sporting a poorly concealed smile as she taps away at her phone.

Apparently, ever since their reconnection, Amanda had been texting Hannah and Barbara regularly. While Akko can’t necessarily say whether there is something as serious as a relationship going on, she has noticed Amanda sneakily checking her phone for messages more often during meetings. Whatever happened between them in the past seemed to have been forgiven based on the soft expression she notices on the redhead’s face whenever she gets a message. 

As happy as she is that her friend has been a little brighter than usual, Akko can’t help but feel a slight pang of jealousy. It’s been a little over two weeks since she and Diana had met up at the café, and she has found herself a little disappointed that since then, she hadn’t seen nor heard from her. Did she really leave that bad of an impression?

‘ _C’mon don’t be dumb. It was just for business... Diana said so herself. She wanted to meet up and talk so that there wouldn’t be any bad blood if we run into each other in the future...’_

_‘It doesn’t mean she wants to be friends… or allies.’_

As much as she tells herself that their meet up was far from ‘hanging out’, she can’t stop herself from thinking about the blonde. Their meeting was just so strange… but while the other girl started off cold, once she started warming up, talking, joking, letting her smile peek through (and Akko _knows_ the difference between a fake smile and a real one), Akko had let a seed of hope take root in her chest.

She wanted to like her. And she wanted the other girl to like her in return…

But perhaps it’s just not meant to be.

Akko snaps out of her thoughts as Lotte comes walking out of the bay with Herec signing off on her clipboard confirming in writing the approval of the transporting of the items.

Akko straightens her back against the truck and sees Amanda and Jasminka put phone and food away, respectively, as they prepare to get down to business.

Once Herec returned the signed clipboard to Lotte, she concludes their discussion with a professional smile and a firm handshake before turning towards the three women at the truck. “Alright! Be gentle loading the crates into the truck! Some of these have some very delicate items.”

As though they weren’t aware.

At her words, Amanda, Akko, and Jasminka get to work and head into the bay to where the crates have been stacked to be moved to the truck. 

Moving the crates were almost as bad as Akko had imagined. Thank goodness she had Amanda helping her move them and reminding her to use her knees instead of her back. Despite the warning and trying her darndest to follow the instruction, she knows for a fact that she will definitely be feeling the soreness tomorrow.

Jasminka, on the other hand, lifted and moved her crates by herself with ease. Akko knew the Russian girl was strong, but as she struggled to wedge her fingers under the side of one heavy crate, she didn’t even try to stop her jaw from dropping at the sight of the other girl hefting it up over her shoulder and making her way towards the truck.

Moving the crates, they make note of the ones that bear Sucy’s marking, taking care to place them where there would be ease of accessibility once the truck starts moving. Sucy had briefed them on how many crates had been marked and the items in each that were of interest ahead of time. She had already calculated the weights she would have to manipulate in the ledger, so once Sucy makes those final adjustments to Herec’s book, it would be like their handful items were never packed away in the first place. 

Surely to bring up some suspicion on their overseer after the fact.

After what felt like a hundred boxes (it was only 12), they finally tighten the straps securing the crates to the truck and close the hatch, locking the cargo hold. Akko lets out an immense sigh of relief to finally be able to get into the air-conditioned truck – from this point on, it should all be smooth sailing.

Jasminka moves around the truck to take her place in the driver’s seat as Amanda and Akko slide themselves into the cab of the truck.

It’s times like this where the job almost seems too easy.

After a few short words with Lotte the liaison and Herec yet again warning them that there are some very fragile pieces, the three of them head off leaving Lotte to tie off her end.

As they turn off the property and begin their long trek up to Cheshire, Akko and Amanda ‘whoop’ excitedly, flinging their hats off of their heads and smacking their hands together in a high five before shaking Jasminka’s shoulders with glee.

“Dude… I don’t want to jinx ourselves… but I think that was the smoothest robbery we’ve ever pulled.” Amanda says, knocking on her head.

“We’re not done yet though!” Akko says with a grin before pulling out a crowbar and a nail gun hidden beneath a woolen blanket.

* * *

Several miles and a few turns up the road from the lab, Jasminka pulls over to the side of the road as Akko and Amanda slide out of the cab and get themselves into the cargo hold, shutting the door behind them and knocking on the wall giving Jasminka the “go” to keep driving. To avoid too much suspicion on the moving crew, they have to make sure their delivery time isn’t too far off the mark… meaning the rest of the job is going to have to happen on the road.

Now, as simple as it would be to just drive off with the treasures of the ‘ _Sentier de Dante’,_ Ursula insisted that a majority of the findings should be able to be put on display in the Maritime Archives and Collection Museum for the purpose of education and history. If the pieces were going to be locked away in someone’s private collection, guarded from the light of day, it would have been a different story… but since they are being sent to be displayed at a museum and the pieces they are taking the place of are being sent to colleges and universities across the country, Ursula passionately reasoned that the history (save a couple artifacts) should be available to those who wish to learn of it.

As Akko and Amanda feel the truck come back to life, the two of them pull out a padded bag filled with Styrofoam peanuts from behind the crates and get to work finding Sucy’s marked boxes.

Loosening one of the straps, Amanda clears the way for Akko to step up to the first crate and set the crowbar in place beneath its lid. With a strained grunt, Akko pries with all her strength, inching the lid open. 

“So, I got something for you.” Amanda says with a sly grin, pulling out her phone and tapping away as she watches Akko strain herself, readjusting the crowbar to allow her better leverage. A moment later, Akko’s phone vibrates in her back pocket.

“What is it?” Akko questions with an exertion pressured grunt, pushing down on the crowbar.

“Got you blondie’s cell number.”

“What?!” Akko chokes as she violently bounces down at the crowbar forcing the lid to fly clean off the top of the crate.

“Mhm. You’re welcome.” Amanda grins.

“You can’t just steal some girl’s number!” Akko panics as the truck sways, causing her to stumble into balance.

Amanda pauses, not really expecting the negative reaction. “Uh. Yeah we can. Conz has done it like… a million times.” She crosses her arms and looks at the brunette judgingly, “and, hellooo?… have you forgotten that we are _literally_ here to _permanently borrow_ some pirate treasure? The crowbar is physically in your hand…”

Akko puckers her lips and reflexively tightens her hold on the crowbar. Silent and conflicted.

“Mmhm.” Amanda nods with just a touch of sass. “Besides, it doesn’t matter anyway ‘cause I didn’t steal it... Hannah gave it to me.” She says bending over, picking up the crate lid that had gone flying before leaning it against the box’s side.

Akko cocks her head, her eyes wide and hopeful, wrestling with disbelief. “She gave it to you? Did… Diana want to give it to me?”

“Unclear. Either yes... or Hannah’s playing matchmaker.” Amanda shrugs before a cheeky smile crosses her face. “Though Hannah did say blondie was all jittery and nervous about your little date…she thinks she’s into you.” Amanda winks at her before starting to rummage through the Styrofoam and blankets covering the several artifacts inside the crate.

Akko forces herself to snap back to attention, she did have a job to do after all. She pushes down the surprising blush in her cheeks before lowering her head and helping Amanda find their loot.

“Apparently she’s a bit of a shut in and doesn’t really do that whole ‘go out and meet people’… thing.” Amanda continues before pulling out a stone and gold statue of what appears to be a snake. “Ain’t no way in hell they know she moonlights as a cat burglar.” As she begins rewrapping the piece with muslin and carefully places it into their Styrofoam peanut filled bag (it was one of the pieces on Sucy’s list), Amanda pauses. “You figure out how she did that, by the way?”

“Ah… no… she wouldn’t tell me.” Akko says half paying attention as she picks up any loose bits of Styrofoam that had dropped and throws them back into the crate.

‘ _Was there really something happening at the café? I didn’t think she looked like she was feeling any kind of way, but why would Amanda lie about Hannah saying those things?’_

“Ah, lame.” Amanda pouts as she lifts the lid of the crate and positions it back on top, taking a screw driver to pry out the busted industrial staples that they would have to replace when resealing the box. “Think she burrowed a hole with a drill or something?”

Akko’s eyebrows shoot to the top of her forehead before scrunching down skeptically. “Wouldn’t the seismic sensors have gone off?”

Amanda grumbles, brain going back to the drawing board.

As Amanda continues to make the crates seem untampered with and presentable, lining up the staple gun to the newly emptied holes and shooting them into place; Akko moves onto the next marked crate and starts to pry it open.

“But what if she managed to turn OFF the seismic sensors?” Amanda muses as she shoots the last staple into place.

“There’s still security all over the place...” Akko grunts, sweat beading down her forehead as she pushes on the crowbar, forcing the top of the next crate to squeak open. 

“Well…” Amanda pauses to think before her eyes brighten. “Maybe she’s got an inside guy!”

“Like who?” Akko gasps as the lid to the crate comes loose and cranks open. “We looked into every staff and security member… new and long term. Nobody seemed to have a background…” Akko stands up and stretches her back, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Besides, Diana said she doesn’t have a team.”

“Mhm mhm…Well that’s a way to throw someone off the scent.” Amanda rolls her eyes as she begins rifling through the contents of the second crate as Akko rubs her hands through her gloves. “Dude, it took _seven_ of us to get that job done. And we’re practically professionals! How could she do that _alone_?”

“I dunno.” Akko says with the roll of her neck before a small smile graces her lips at the memory of the other girl’s words. “A magician never reveals her secrets...”

“UGH! Magic shmagic.” Amanda groans. “Don’t tell me she’s a closet ‘is THIS your card?’ dork too.”

“Oh please.” Akko laughs as she bends over to help Amanda sift through the crate. “You’re just mad cause you don’t know how I can do it. Every. Single. Time.”

“Damn right! You’ve gotta screw it up someti– ” Amanda stops mid-word as she feels a volleyball sized glass orb. “Ohhh, well _helloooo there_ _gorgeous_.” She says as she pulls out the glittering crystal globe.

The picture Ursula was able to pull up on the projector was almost offensive in comparison to sight of this layered, gem-set, and freshly restored bronze masterpiece. Akko couldn’t even pretend to guess how many gemstones were inlayed within the crystal sheets. All different cuts and colors and angles… even just looking at it in the dim lighting of the truck Akko found herself dazzled by the sheer artistry of the masterpiece Amanda held in her hands.

“Wowee… it’s heavier than I thought it would be.” Amanda says as she carefully places it back onto the blanket that she had pulled it out of. 

Akko’s eyes shine as she looks down onto their reason for being in the back of this hot stuffy truck. She leans in to take it in for just a moment, holding her breath, before the truck suddenly jumps, causing the crate to stir and the both of them to rush to steady the priceless artifact.

The two share a look and nod their heads, silently agreeing to postpone their gawking until they get back safe and sound to Ursula’s.

Amanda wraps up the crystal ball and lowers it into their bag, being very careful not to bump it into Sucy’s snake statue.

“Okay, so I think Sucy marked one more. She says it had a mushroom in amber and a couple old medicinal bottles…” Akko says as she lifts the lid of the crate to the box’s top, only to be stopped by Amanda.

“Hold onnn….” The redhead drawls as she dives back into the crate, hands seeming to know exactly where to go, before pulling out seven tarnished doubloons. One for each of them.

Akko looks at her hands as a soft ‘oooo’ escapes her lips.

“Everybody’s getting a little piece of this booty tonight.” Amanda says with an exaggerated wink resulting in a huge sigh from the brunette who then returns the top of the crate to its place.

Once they crack the last crate to retrieve Sucy’s curiosities and affix its lid back into place, the two of them tighten the restraints keeping the boxes from moving during the drive and then go to work with screwdriver and crowbar, marking each and every one of the cases with Sucy’s three parallel lines.

Just in case someone did decide to look into the crates for tampering after the missing pieces were revealed, they wouldn’t want that similarity amongst those three boxes to be noticed. If they’re all marked, then it would seem a little more random selection if they suspect there was someone other than Herec involved with the… _misplacement_ of the items.

Once they finish, Amanda texts Jasminka letting her know that they’re done. Soon after, the two of them feel the truck slowing off to the side of the road. Jasminka texts Amanda to wait, presumably to allow any passing traffic to get out of sight, before giving them the OK. The two of them quickly slide out of the back of the truck cradling their bag of loot. Amanda locks the door and leads the two of them to the passenger’s side door and about as quickly as it took for them to slip out, they leapt back in, reclaiming their seats in the cab. Without a word Jasminka presses the gas and the truck is back in motion heading towards the final destination.

“Everything go okay?” The pink haired girl asks cheerily, one hand on the wheel and one holding a partially eaten cookie. 

“As always.” Amanda says with a cocky grin as Akko begins hiding the treasures and break-in tools beneath a dark blanket at the rear of the cab. “Picked up a little something extra for ya’ll too. You’re welcome.”

“Oh?” Jasminka hums curiously. “Gold coins maybe?” She guesses, immediately followed by Amanda’s shoulders faltering in disappointment of her surprise being so easily unveiled.

“I~… dunno!” She says with a quick reset of her grin, trying to misdirect the girl who knows her better than most. “Ya just gotta wait til we get back to base.” Followed by her pulling out her phone and shooting Sucy a text saying that they have the _Core_ and the rest of her curiosities, and that she recommends additionally deducting the amount of weight that, for example, would make up seven gold-ish pieces of pirate currency from the ledger when she goes to finish her end of the job. 

The rest of the ride to Cheshire is filled with chatter and arguments over what radio station to listen to. Amanda lounges in the passenger seat as Akko sits in the back with the covered loot, keeping it from moving around and damaging anything.

Once they reach the Museum’s intake, much to Akko’s loathe, she screws on the uniform hat she so gleefully whipped off her head the moment they left the lab, and shakes out her arms, reminding herself that to move the boxes out, she will need to use her knees more than her back. With a big sigh, Akko jumps out of the truck and the three of them get to work.

At last, once the final crate is unloaded, Jasminka gets the museum curator to sign off on the delivery of the twelve crates (a document that Constanze will create a digital receipt of and send to Atherton, just to make seem that everything is business as usual), and the three of them begin their drive back to the armored truck hub.

Before reaching the garage, Akko and Amanda unload their bag of treasures and tools into the getaway car they stashed behind a warehouse they KNOW only has cameras stationed outside for decoration. After popping off the fake license plates, Jasminka and Akko take the getaway car as Amanda drives the armored truck back… giving her some alone time to say goodbye to and to mentally check off the fulfillment of her lifelong aspiration of stealing one.

With Constanze and Stanbug dutifully manning the garage cameras and controls, Amanda is able to easily pull in, park, strip out the cheap floor mats and seat covers they had laid to catch any biological or footprint evidence, and stealthily make her way out of the garage, on her way, picking up a scurrying Stanbug before jumping into Jasminka’s waiting car.

“I’m gonna say it again…” Amanda smiles, turning to Akko as she drops the floor mats with a thud. “I don’t want to jinx ourselves… but I think that was the smoothest robbery we’ve ever pulled.”

Only after the remaining hour drive with absolutely no evidence of being tailed (further cleared by Constanze who has heard nothing about theft or armored trucks over police radio), did Akko give Amanda the point. 

It was as though the stars had aligned for them. It wasn’t often that things go without ANY hiccups or unforeseen circumstances, but when a job went completely according to plan… damn did it feel nice.

While they were driving, Amanda divvied up the loot and peanuts between three backpacks; after all, three college aged kids wearing backpacks looked a whole lot less suspicious than three hefting a stuffed duffel bag through the front door of an off-campus building.

Only once the door to the tutoring house closes behind them do the weight on their backs (literally and figuratively) lift.

Mission complete.

The three stroll in to see the rest of the group already sitting in the living room alive with chatter. Sucy, looking a little more forlorn than usual about the last day of her part time job, talks beside Lotte, who had taken off her blazer jacket and draped it over the back of the couch. Seeing the three of them walk into the room, Constanze jumps from her seat beside Sucy and walks up to Amanda, eyes wide with curious expectation.

With a smile, Amanda reaches up into her shirt pocket and pulls out the tiny Stanbug robot between two fingers before holding it out to the engineer. “Looks like the new guy did good today. Didn’t seem like a soul knew I was there.”

A prideful smile crosses Constanze’s face as she takes the tiny robot and happily cups it in her hands. She knew her little invention was going to work, but it’s always exciting at the end of their first missions.

“Is everyone alright?” Ursula asks earnestly as she steps out of the control room with a smile on her face. “That looked like a perfect job! Everything go smoothly on the way home?”

“No problem at all!” Jasminka chimes in as she delicately hands the backpack holding the ‘Core of the Universe’ to her mentor. “All except for Amanda’s choice of music.”

“PSH! I heard you humming along! Don’t give me that!” Amanda scoffs in pretend offense as she pulls the backpack from her back and begins to unzip it, a few Styrofoam peanuts falling to the floor. 

“Can someone really ‘ _hum_ ’ to dubstep?” Akko asks skeptically.

“Oh, cut it. I saw you headbanging in the back.”

“Hmm…” Akko squints her eyes, thinking back.

‘ _That drop was really good…’_

“That must have been when the truck was going over those bumps…” She elects to say, denying her friend the satisfaction.

“Nah. You were dancin’.” Amanda says dismissively before pulling out the seven tarnished gold coins as a handful of peanuts spill to the floor. “I hope ya’ll don’t mind, but I picked up a little something extra to mark the occasion.”

One by one, Amanda hands out the doubloons, and just as she had expected, Constanze was filled with utter glee as her shining eyes rove over the water worn coin. It was no secret among them that along with being a masterful digital pirate, she has an almost childlike fascination with those of the seafaring variety.

Akko passes her backpack filled with Sucy’s statue, amber, and bottles to the puce haired girl taking a bite at her gold coin.

Akko couldn’t help but think about whether all this stuff was going to turn out to be fake like the last time… but Sucy’s assurance on the authenticity placates her mind.

As the group of girls continue their excited chatter, Ursula takes a seat on the floor in front of them and begins unzipping the bag. They all hush at the sound of the zipper before closing in around her to get a look.

Noting the sudden attention, Ursula smiles. ‘ _If only I could find a way to get my students to be this attentive…’_ she muses.

She pulls out the blanket wrapped orb and sits it on the bag before unfolding the fabric. Akko watches, holding her breath until at last she sees the glint of crystal peeking out from its protective shroud.

Truly, the slideshow photo couldn’t stand a chance at doing it justice.

Ursula carefully holds up the orb, turning and appraising it as the rest of the team watches on, marveling at the intricate crystal work and countless shaped gemstones twinkling in its rotation.

“Can someone turn off the lights?” Ursula asks, not once taking her awed eyes off the ball.

All six of them clap their hands and all the lights dim – a fancy little installation Constanze was quite fond of.

Ursula then lowers the _Core of the Universe_ , delicately rotating the bronze base, before pulling out her cellphone and switching the flashlight on.

An audible gasp lets out in the room as Ursula shifts the base over the light source.

‘ _Wow.’_

Erupting from the crystal globe splashes waves of textured light washing against every inch of the room around them. The light’s reflection jumping from gem face to gem face shatters into thousands and thousands of color tinted stars against themselves and over the walls and floor. Within the ball itself presents its own stunning image of the contained universe, shimmering, angled gemstones glowing and reflecting within the glass confuse the eye as to just how large the space its contents make up. If she could look closer into it, Akko doubts she’d believe that she was able to hold the contents of the ever-expanding universe in her very hands.

The seven of them look around, gaping at the room. Everyone’s eyes fill with an almost childlike wonder as they gaze among the stars. Even Sucy, who is so very skilled in maintaining her stoic expression, sits slack jawed and wide eyed as Ursula slowly turns the crystal ball’s base, swirling and twisting the stars around the room on their Earth’s axis.

With an ill-concealed excitement, Ursula begins pointing out and discussing star patterns and clusters and how some of the patterns we see today have changed since the _Core_ ’s creation. The girls all knew that Ursula had a sort of romance with the stars. Along with her knowledge in anthropology and archaeology, she had been in the process of including astronomy to her professional skillset, however, while she hadn’t completed the schooling for it, she never lost her wonderment and awe for the stars.

Eventually, Ursula tapers off from her impromptu lesson and for a short while longer the group continues to sit and take in the sight, the illusion of floating among the stars.

“So who’s the buyer?” Lotte asks softly, breaking the silence of space.

“There’s a French scholar who claims she is a descendent of the _Cœur Croyant’_ s Captain.” Ursula says, still slightly distracted by their galaxy. “She had found out about the discovery and got in contact with Nelson to find someone who might be interested in the job.”

While the girls didn’t know too much about Nelson, they know she acts as their team fence, moving hot objects and cold payment between hands, for a cut of the profit, of course. Over the years she seems to have developed a soft spot for Ursula’s team, giving them good tips on potential jobs and opportunities. While Amanda claims that it’s because she’s got the hots for their blue haired mentor, it’s probably just because they consistently get jobs done and get her paid.

Ursula looks around apologetically since all good things must come to an end, and begins rewrapping the _Core_ back into its protective blankets. “I’m not quite sure what she’s planning on doing with it, but Nelson said that she was passionate about it, so my hope is that it will be put somewhere to be experienced to its fullest.”

Just as the star scape fades from the world around them to dark, a feeling of longing and loss descends over Akko’s heart. A reminder of one of the first things that Akko has learned from her criminal career:

You can’t keep everything.

For the remainder of the afternoon the girls gathered around several boxes of pizza with varied toppings debriefing over the mission and decompressing after a long, long day.

Sucy talked about how her coworkers had seemed genuinely upset about her temporary position coming to the end of its time. While she didn’t particularly treasure any of the connections developed over the last two weeks, she couldn’t help but be a little disappointed that she won’t be able to play with their lab equipment again. Amanda and Jasminka bickered playfully about the drive as Constanze studied the golden doubloon further while Lotte and Ursula continued on in a conversation further delving into the subject of space and time.

All the while still reacting and responding to the jabs and conversations going on around her, as Akko bites into her slice of pizza, her mind continues to drift back to the expansive night sky contained in the crystal ball. 

It was just… so far outside of her expectation of what it could have been. It was beautiful. Unlike a lot of pieces that they take – all the bits and bobs with small gems that could be sold for more separately than together, not _once_ did Akko try to value it. It would have been cruel to try to break down such a piece, even theoretically. It’s something special… To be able to hold the universe… every choice and every circumstance she would ever experience not even making up a speck of dust on the smallest of gems… It opened the door to the realization of the absolute vastness of everything around her, giving her an assurance that there is something far larger out there…

And it saddens her that she’ll never see something like it again.

Once the pizza boxes are thrown out and the sky begins to turn dark, the girls begin to collect their things to head home. After their rounds of goodbyes to Ursula the girls walk over the threshold leaving the tutoring house.

After having thought about it a majority of the evening, the moment Akko steps onto the walkway she can’t bring herself to move another step forward. She turns to face her mentor who in return faces her with an expression of curiosity and concern.

“Is everything alright, Akko?” She asks kindly as she pauses her action of closing the door.

Akko blanches, thinking that this has GOT to be a waste of her time.

‘ _It’s too risky… She’s not going to let me hold on to it. I shouldn’t be walking around with something like ‘that’.’_

“Uhm… yeah. Uh.” Akko stumbles before throwing her caution to the wind. “W-would it be okay if I held onto the… Core of the Universe?” She asks quietly as she moves her hands around a shape of a ball. “I just… wanted to look at it a little more…” She blushes as she forces her eyes to meet Ursula’s. “Just for tonight? I’ll be super careful with it, I _promise._ ”

Ursula purses her lip as her brow furrows with thought. Akko was positive that she was going to hear a flat-out rejection, but her heart finds itself in a skip as she sees the older woman’s lips upturn into a small smile.

“Well… you _did_ do the job… and we’re not going to be giving it to Nelson until tomorrow night…so, as long as we have it back by then, sure.” Ursula says decidedly.

Akko’s eyebrows shoot to her hairline as she visibly begins bouncing in place. “Really?”

Ursula laughs. She had seen the look on the younger girl’s face as she looked at the night sky in their living room. Not a single hint of greed or coveting, only appreciation and perhaps, if she read it right, enlightenment. She knows the feeling quite well… being given just a taste of getting to know the unknown. And for all she’s known her through, she trusts that Akko will keep her word.

After a quick nod, Ursula turns back inside, fumbling with her key to get into the control room. As she steps inside, Akko can hear her shuffling with her keys once more, followed by the beeping of the 9-digit password safe that serves as their loot storage. Ursula walks back out with the globe wrapped in blanket before placing it into a backpack and walking it to the door. Before she hands the bag over, she takes a deep breath and a nervous smile crosses her face. “Just, please be delicate with it.”

“I promise!” Akko says, still excitedly bouncing before being very, very conscious about not dropping any of the belongings in her hands. That would be grounds for an instant redaction of her permission.

Akko then rearranges her belongings, resolving to slip her arms through the backpack straps and hugging the crystal ball at her front. _To be extra safe._

Akko beams, profusely thanking the older woman as she too steps outside and locks the door behind them. Ursula smiles and nods in return before walking alongside her down the walkway. “Take care, Akko. Have a good night.”

* * *

Hours later, Akko sits in her bedroom, the outstretching of stars bathing every inch of her and her small room. She lays on her stomach beside the shining globe, sprawled out on the bed as she gazes deep into the layers of crystal and gemstone finding that if she is close enough, she can almost displace herself from the world around her. Whisking her away from her bedroom’s four walls and the traffic outside… from Sucy asleep on the couch, tired after a full day working at the lab… and from Lotte, who is sitting beside her, engrossed by the television showing a movie based off her favorite book series. 

When the three of them had gotten back to their apartment, Akko had set up the Universe in their living room. While the three did take some time to admire the display for a while longer, Sucy and Lotte ended up moving forward with the other plans for their nights.

Akko didn’t mind though. Her bed was far more comfortable than the couch anyway. Besides, she wanted the chance to really look into the piece… to lose herself and gaze into the illusion of the universe.

It truly was a shame that she would likely never get to experience it again. Unless she finds herself in France, perhaps. But she knows unless she steals this again, she’ll never get to see it quite like this.

As she gazes in through the sapphire and ruby and topaz and diamond stars, she allows her mind to wander, to imagine it drifting its way through the galaxy, wondering if any one thing will leave its mark.

She recounts the morning, the drive and the conversation to pick up the armored car… she thinks about the too tight hat and the heat of the day and she is thankful that she doesn’t have to heave those crates into the truck tomorrow. She thinks about the rush of pulling out of the lab’s parking lot, only a stretch from success. She thinks about getting Diana’s number…

Akko blushes as she lays alone on her bed staring into the contained night sky… seeing her reflection in the crystal… seeing it stare back.

_‘I can’t believe it. She actually sent me her number… well, Amanda… and apparently it was Hannah who sent it… but… still…’_

_‘Is she expecting me to text her or call her? If she gave it to me and I haven’t gotten back to her yet, does that make it look like I’m rejecting her? I don’t want that!’_ The girl grits her teeth, trying her hardest to muster up the guts. ‘ _If I can steal old pirate treasure, I can text a girl!’_ She snorts before taking a heavy breath.

 _‘Okay. So, I’ll text her. Just so she has my number.’_ Akko thinks decidedly before she begins to reach for her phone from beneath the crystal ball… but she stops.

 _‘WHAT DO I EVEN SAY THOUGH??’_ The brunette throws herself back to the bed, leaving the phone to continue its spread of stars.

 _‘“Hi, its Akko. How are you?”’_ She imagines in a dopey voice. _‘Psh… NO. Hhhhhhhh how do people DO THIS???’_

Frustratedly humming in thought, Akko turns back to the crystal globe, taking in the seemingly impossible concept of the contained universe sitting here in bed with her.

She looks again into the twinkling rubies and sapphires and realization that she might never get this chance again…

Suddenly her eyes brighten, challenging the thousands of shining gemstones before her, as an idea settles in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll! We're getting close to the end of Act 1! (I'm writing it now, it should be chapter 11)  
> I just want to you thank you guys for all of your support in this story so far! The heists are genuinely my favorite thing to write, so I hope they are just as enjoyable to read!  
> Thank you again, and I hope you guys like what's coming up next!!


	8. Of the Chances Among the Unvierse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everything seemingly quieting down, Diana decides to spend a normal night with her friends for the first time in a long time, however, out of nowhere, she get's a call and an experience from the person she least expects.

As her eyes run through the last line of the paper, Diana gently takes the corner of the page between her fingers and flips to the next chapter of her novel, resuming pace back at the top.

It was a nice night. While it was unusually hot during the day, now, with the setting of the sun, a much-needed cool breeze wafts in through the open windows as Diana, Hannah and Barbara take up the couches and chairs in the living room.

An hour prior, Barbara had claimed the television to settle down with a movie, the first airing of the long-awaited movie based off her favorite book series, Nightfall. Hannah, though not nearly as fond of the series as Barbara, happily took her place beside her girlfriend and snuggled into her shoulder, however, seeming far more engaged with her phone than the movie.

Diana had been feeling a slight bit guilty about having been so scarce over the last few months. With all the secret studying and research on the _Silver Hound_ (and unfortunately coming up blank on the disappearance of its sister piece) she had felt a separation forming. Now that things are seeming like they’re quieting down, Diana decides that putting down mother’s mysterious notebook for a night to spend a little more time with her friends wouldn’t make that huge of a difference to her studying, and so, settled down beside them in her armchair with a book she had been meaning to finish.

It feels like ages since she has been able to do normal ‘friend’ things with Hannah and Barbara. They had been fast friends ever since primary school. Hannah, by far the most outgoing of their trio, had known Barbara long before, but seamlessly folded Diana into their little group. Diana had initially thought that they only wanted to be her friend so they could copy her homework, however, her suspicions were set aside after seeing that the two of them could hold their own in the classroom. Hannah was quite the challenger when it came to in-class debate.

Barbara, on the other end, was a little more subtle. She had always enjoyed reading and while a lot tended to be fiction, Diana was convinced that she had a photographic memory as evidenced by her extremely accurate recall of minute details. Hannah had once accidentally closed out of a computer tab while preparing a recipe for their dinner, but since she looked over the recipe for distasteful ingredients earlier in the afternoon, Barbara was able to recite the rest of the recipe from heart. The boeuf bourguignon came out delicious.

Ever since they were little, the three had been inseparable. They had gone through primary and secondary school together, spending countless afternoons in each other’s’ company. Hannah and Barbara had looked out for Diana, and she had looked out for them in turn.

They been her only constant through the time of her mother’s death, and their friendship respectfully fought back the feeling of isolation and darkness and depression that had tried to cloud her vision.

Diana’s unsure she will ever truly be able to repay them for that.

Even as they moved in together and she saw Hannah and Barbara’s friendship blossom to romance, she never once felt like their relationship was faltering. While Diana didn’t particularly mind being the ‘third wheel’, she had considered her best friend’s feelings. Hannah and Barbara seemed downright offended that Diana thought that the two of them didn’t want to live together with her. Barbara assured her that unless she wanted to move out, they were very happy keeping their found family as close as possible. And so, she stayed. It felt normal. Just as things were supposed to be.

But ever since finding her mother’s death was a little more mysterious than initially thought and taking on the responsibility of deciphering the notes she left behind, her world had turned upside down.

It had only been a few months… close to a half a year at this point… that her Aunt Daryl was going through her mother’s office belongings from before her death, and gave Diana the option of looking through before she would throw the books and papers away.

Bernadette has been a brilliant professor at the University of Oxford, armed with doctorates and a deep passion in both mythology and archaeology. Following her school years, her study had taken her all around the world, and with countless papers and journals published with her name, she was considered in the highest professional regard in her fields of study. Up until the day Diana was born, she had explored and traversed sites of ancient civilizations, discovering the shape of the world that once was. But after hearing the sound of her daughter’s laugh for the first time (and Diana had been far from a fussy infant) Bernadette decided to take a step back from her travels and continued with her research from a home office, sharing her wealth of knowledge and spreading infectious passion for the past to future generations of new minds.

Despite not growing up with her father (he had died in a motorcycle accident long before Diana was born), Diana’s childhood had been as normal as she could imagine it could be.

She remembers her mom having the absolute BEST bedtime stories. As she had gotten older, she realized most of them were from Greek and Roman myth, fascinating her further.

She remembers sitting on her mother’s office floor studying coloring books and crayon-scribbled lined sheets of paper pretending to do research alongside her.

She remembers going to the University and being so amazed that her mom worked in a castle, fondly remembering the courtyard she would occasionally take her for picnics.

She remembers all the times they would take little trips to go fossil hunting. She even remembers the time her mother invited Hannah and Barbara with them to the beach and showed them how to look for shark teeth with a homemade sifter. 

She remembers the scrapes on her knees after her mom taught her how to ride a bike. She remembers her chocolate biscuits and the way she would brush her hair. How she would invite Diana into the kitchen, pick her up, and dance with her until both of their cheeks were red from laughing... 

And she remembers how much she loved and looked up to her mother.

If the stories about the Olympians putting the stars in the sky were true, she would have believed her mother was one of them.

Diana was eight when she was dropped off at her Aunt and cousin’s house for a sleepover while her mom went on a work trip. It wasn’t uncommon. Her mom did plenty of short trip travelling as Diana had gotten older and usually it resulted in a cool rock or some more amazing bedtime stories when she returned. However, this time when her mother kissed her goodbye, it turned out to be the last time.

Her mother was found dead two months later off the coast of Pomrie, Bulgaria.

As difficult as it was for her to accept her mother’s death, in her youth she allowed herself to believe what was said about it being caused by an accidental drowning. However, as she got older, she realized that due to its incredibly high salinity… it is _surprisingly difficult_ to drown in the Black Sea.

And so, Diana began to dig a little further beyond the reports of her mother’s death.

And for years she came up empty. That is, until her Aunt revealed that she had held onto her mother’s books and journals.

Diana went through her mother’s notes and she finally began piecing together a few pieces of what appeared to be an unfinished puzzle.

A lot of her mother’s and her predecessor’s notes were written in differing code (adding itself as yet another puzzle Diana would not stop at until deciphered), however, folded in the final used pages of her mother’s encrypted journal she found a note addressed to her.

She had started out with an apology. Then moved on to explaining that she had hoped otherwise, but knew that there was a chance she wouldn’t be coming back from her meeting with the curator in Bulgaria.

She had been looking into a piece called the _Kuche Oniks,_ otherwise known as the _Onyx Dog_ , and had said she had gotten a lead on its location within an ancestor of a deposed Bulgarian Prince’s private collection. After that, Diana began to question if her mother had been trying her hand at writing fiction.

She then explained that she was given a secret responsibility passed down within the Cavendish family for over the last two thousand years to protect a set of ancient artifacts from a long-standing cult, the Sons of Clytius. According to the notes, it has been said that when the three pieces are reconnected, a great, extraordinary power will come to its unifier, and her family had been perpetually locating and relocating the pieces separately so that they could not be brought together within any one person’s hands.

She apologized again, followed by some final motherly assurances and words of love and joy to her daughter. And at last, as Diana reached the final line of the letter with tears in her eyes, she reads that the responsibility of her mother is now passed on to her.

Her mother had left an additional note stating that she had told her Aunt to give these belongings and notes to her on her 18th birthday, however, it appeared as though in her grief, Daryl had neglected to do so.

The note had also said that Daryl knew nothing about this secret passed-down responsibility… and that she wished to keep it that way. Daryl didn’t quite have the mind for these types of studies… and as Diana had noticed over the years, tended to match Bernadette’s fascination with history instead with a question of how it could be valued. 

It had been overwhelming at the least, but as the months passed and she began slowly decoding her mother’s journal, it had gradually become her new normal.

And now with finding a group of thieves who were after the _Silver Hound_ just _weeks_ after the burglary of the _Onyx Dog_ … she finds herself seeing the higher potential for danger the more embedded she gets into the research…

But her mother died for this cause. So, she will carry out the responsibility given to her with pride.

But with the _Silver Hound_ safe in her possession she had bought herself at least a little time to dabble in her life before the conspiracy, right?

And for the last two and a half weeks she has been keeping tabs on her potential lead to the Sons of Clytius… no matter how guilty tracking Akko had been making her feel…

No. Now she was Diana, friend and roommate of Hannah and Barbara, enjoying a good book on a very nice night.

Diana looks up to see her two friends cuddled next to each other on the couch, Hannah still flicking through her phone as Barbara’s eyes are drawn and locked onto the events of the movie playing out on screen. With a small smile, thankful for the two of them sticking beside her and remaining her constants through everything, Diana returns her eyes to her book only to be interrupted by the sound of her ringtone singing in her pocket.

With a confused scrunch in her brow, Diana reaches to retrieve the phone. Anyone who would normally call her was right here… besides of course for Daryl or her cousins… but they never really had a phone-call relationship.

She pulls out the phone and can’t quite place the number printed across the screen.

“Who is it?” Hannah asks, grabbing the blonde’s attention. As she looks up, she sees that Barbara had paused the movie and both of the girls were looking to her intently.

“I don’t recognize the number. It’s probably a telemarketer or a wrong dial.” Diana says as she begins to lower the phone, ready to let it go to voicemail. “

“Pick it up! See who it is.” Hannah says with a slight squint to her own brow. “Telemarketers don’t usually call at 10 at night, right? Could it be your Aunt?”

Noting the auburn-haired girl’s interest of the call, Diana looks at her with curiosity before a feeling of concern that her Aunt or cousins had gotten into a predicament that would put them into the position of needing to use a stranger’s phone washes over her.

As her thoughts slowly make their way towards dark and Sons of Clytius related, she presses accept on the screen and holds the phone to her ear, missing the shared smile between the two girls huddled together on the couch.

 _“Hello?”_ She answers.

For a moment there is no response. She then hears sound of a slight shuffling of fabric before she can make out a quiet _“shit!”_ on the other end. After another quick round of shuffling she hears the other person’s timid voice.

_“Oh. Uh. Um. Diana? H-hi! How are you doing?”_

_“Yes? Who is this?”_ Diana asks with a stiff voice and a questioning brow, not recognizing the voice on the other end. 

_“Oh sorry! It’s me. Um. Akko! I didn’t mean to call you, well. I mean I was thinking about it but then my phone fell out of my hands and landed on my face so I guess technically my nose called you but-”_

_“How did you get this number?”_ Diana says abruptly with a bit of a chill. She guesses that they had already found out where she lived, she shouldn’t be surprised that the other girl would look up her cell number. She really needed to look into smarter security options especially since she doesn’t yet know who she can’t trust…

 _“Oh! Um... Amanda said that you told Hannah to give it to her to give to me?”_ The other girl’s voice tapers off. _“Or... did...you not...mean to?”_

Diana’s confused expression alights with clarity as she looks up at Hannah and Barbara looking at her with raised eyebrows and anticipation. 

Diana’s eyebrows raise before she looks up at Hannah and Barbara with a face that says that they were going to have a conversation about giving out her personal information the moment she hangs up the phone. The two girls return her glare with a set of supportive thumbs up, Hannah mouthing the words ‘you’re welcome’.

 _“I was unaware...I’m afraid.”_ Diana says stiffly, before taking a deep breath and frustratedly turning her eyes away from her plotting friends.

_“O-oh.”_

And like a swift shove, Diana’s heart drops just a little at the disheartened sound of the other girl’s voice.

Based on her roommate’s expressions she knows for a fact that the brunette girl hadn’t been lying. It was all just a misunderstanding…

And despite her caution, while she can’t say with absolute certainty that she’s not a part of the Sons, Akko has proven to be nothing but kind to her, all things considered…

“ _Uh… sorry…”_ Akko’s voice mumbles over the receiver.

 _“It’s fine. I apologize for my sharpness”_ Diana says with a quick shake of her head, deciding that there’s no harm in hearing the other girl out. _“Anyway, what was it you were thinking of calling me about in the first place?”_

 _“Oh!”_ The other girl’s voice brightens. _“I um… was wondering if I could come over for a little bit?”_

Diana’s eyebrows knit together at the request. _“Excuse me?”_

 _“Not for anything bad! Promise.”_ She can hear Akko panic. _“I just wanted to show you something.”_

 _“Tonight?”_ Diana questions, drawing excited reactions from both of her friends who had been straining their ears to hear the conversation.

_“I… kinda have to give it back tomorrow and I thought you might like to see it.”_

_“What is it?”_

_“I can’t… really say… and it… sounds kind of silly to describe…”_

Diana nervously bites at the inside of her cheek.

_‘Okay… clearly, it’s something stolen… Hhhhhhh…. This is not at all the type of relationship I wanted to create when I said I didn’t want to have bad blood…’_

_“Couldn’t you send a picture? You do have my number after all.”_ Diana tries.

_“N… not really. It’s something you kinda have to see in person. Believe me.”_

The blonde anxiously picks at her thumbnail before looking back up to her friends to see Hannah aggressively whispering the words “Do it!” with an almost frustrated expression.

_‘Oh, they have no idea what they’ve gotten me into here…’_

Diana sucks her teeth as she begins to think.

_‘I could just say I’m not interested? That may deter future phone calls? But then again, that may also damper the amicable relationship we apparently have... On the other end… based on her activity… they did just pull a job… and we have gone after the same thing once before… If they found one of the other pieces…’_

Diana’s eyebrows knit as she sets her jaw.

 _‘It’s not like she doesn’t already know where I live… and she’s asking for permission…. if she was up to no good she wouldn’t have given me a heads up, right?_ _And I’ve_ _already moved the Hound to a safer location so even if this was a ploy to try to steal it, she wouldn’t find it..._ _Besides… I would have to be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t a bit curious as to what she means to show me… considering her line of business…’_

And if she said no now, she knew she was going to get her ear chewed off by Hannah and Barbara...

They have no clue of the gravity of her situation but lying about a fake relationship courting will be far easier to do out loud than lying about her involvement in a centuries old conspiracy.

Diana closes her eyes and lets out a sigh. _“Okay, fine. You already know where I live, correct?”_

 _“Yup!”_ Akko says excitedly, and maybe a _little_ too quickly for Diana’s comfort. _“Ohhh you’re gonna love it! See you soon! Bye!”_

Diana wasn’t given the option to respond before the call was disconnected. As she places the phone in her lap her eyes flit up to her friends.

“Sooo?” Barbara prompts, practically wiggling in her seat as she and Hannah wait on Diana to react.

“So…” Diana takes a stressed breath. “Perhaps you could ask me before giving my number away to strangers in the future? Please?”

“You’re hardly strangers.” Hannah tuts her. “You already went on a date with the girl!”

“That was not a– _hhhhhhh…”_ Diana frustratedly runs her hand through her hair.

“Diana, listen.” Hannah starts. “And no offense… you know we love you with each and every fiber of our beings...”

“Yeah.” Barbara affirms with a nod of her head. 

“But you’re a mess.” Hannah states as Barbara agrees with another nod. “You’ve been holed up in your room for _months_ doing _God knows what._ And you are totally welcome to your privacy, but Diana…”

“You haven’t looked happy in months…” Barbara says sadly, finishing Hannah’s sentence.

“We love you, okay?” Hannah levels with her, her eyes tired and genuine. “And we are _always_ going to look out for you whether you want us to or not. And that’s why we are not going to sit by and watch you let this opportunity to get to know that adorable Japanese girl go by. She’s _clearly_ into you, why else would she have called?”

Diana opens her mouth to answer, but her breath hitches in her throat. She hadn’t quite considered that _that_ could be a possibility…

She’s not quite sure how she feels about that…

“And you’ve _got_ to have SOME kind of interest in her…” Hannah continues, “Hell, YOU asked HER to meet up! I don’t remember the last time you asked _us_ to go out!”

A wad of guild catches in Diana’s chest.

“And you _blushed_ when Amanda came over with her that first time.” Barbara adds. “You _BLUSHED!”_

“Neither of us had seen you blush since you walked in us getting handsy–”

“I recall, yes.” Diana says quickly cutting Hannah off as a blush starts to climb up her neck at the memory. “Thank you.”

“Look. From what you said at the café, she was really sweet. And while I would _never_ say that she could possibly be better than either of us…” Hannah jokes. “Getting out and making a friend… _or girlfriend_ …” she adds slyly, “might be good for you.”

“We want to see you happy Di…” Barbara says softly as she shifts in her seat. “…and it’s not happening with you just… doing what you’ve been doing. Just… give it a shot, okay?”

“If you don’t like her, fine, whatever. _I don’t believe you_ , but whatever. And if she turns out to be an asshole and it looks like she’s gonna do something to you, we’ll go rabid on her. Just say the word.” Hannah shrugs nonchalantly, being entirely serious. “But give her a chance. Amanda said she was positively giddy after your coffee date.”

Diana holds her tongue again, pinching her brow in contemplation.

‘ _Could that truly be her angle? Is her interest in me beyond the artifacts? But… Amanda is working for the same people Akko is. We can’t take what she says to be honest…’_

She knows her best friends have been talking to the redheaded girl more and more over the last few weeks. Ever since she and Akko had showed up at their doorstep, Diana had been suspiciously questioning Amanda’s intentions with them… however, Diana knows she has no right and is in no position to tell Hannah and Barbara who not to socialize with…

Still, she can’t help but feel on edge whenever Amanda’s name is mentioned. She would never forgive herself if either of the girls got hurt or used by anyone trying to get to her or the artifacts. Though, she does have to credit that, as far as she knows, there have been no thefts, moved books, or instances of foul play.

What if their interests aren’t in the artifacts or the mission Diana’s been given? Diana would surely feel appalled at herself for essentially stalking the brunette… But she can’t be sure... and she can’t afford to be ignorant. Whether or not she feels guilty, if this girl is coming to her house, she will have to be on her highest guard.

“…She seems sweet. So just try to be open to her.” Hannah finishes, re-capturing Diana’s attention.

“We’re worried about you Di…” Barbara says softly as both she and Hannah look over, almost pleadingly, to the blonde. 

Diana looks at them with a tight brow as the imaginary scenario of Akko and Amanda showing their true colors as Sons fades from her mind. Though, as she eases her way back into reality to see the undoubtable care and concern in her friends’ eyes, she finds a small half smile pulling her lips.

With just about everything in her world right now twisting and turning on an unknown track, it is comforting to know that her two best friends are as steadfast and reliable as ever.

“Look,” Diana says with a breath. “I know I’ve been… more distant than usual… and I apologize that I haven’t really been here for you two as much as I should be.” She pauses. “I’ve been dealing with something… but I’m handling it.” She continues as she looks at the two of them, desperately hoping that they can’t see through to the fear behind her eyes. “I know you’re trying to help… and I appreciate it… but please… don’t worry about me.”

“Well, you know that’s not gonna happen.” Hannah says matter-of-factly. “We know you don’t like talking about what’s bothering you… so we won’t force you, but we want you to know that we see it and that we’re here if you do want to talk about it…”

“We just want to see you happy,” Barbara adds, “Even if you don’t want to talk about it, seeing you ask someone out on a date in the middle of you being like this _is huge_.”

“Completely unexpected.” Hannah mutters.

“There’s gotta be a reason, Di.”

Diana bites her lip.

Although she desperately wishes she could be honest with them, she refuses to share her mother’s secret with them out of fear of putting them in danger by getting them further involved. Not only that, but she’s sure they would look at her as though she were crazy if she started talking about ancient cults and that she thinks Amanda and the girl they’re trying to set her up with are part of the conspiracy…

She can’t imagine any of that would go well.

“I’m… not certain.” Diana says.

It’s not a lie, but giving them any more information would lead her into a corner. She hates lying to them, but with the best of intentions she cannot allow herself to tell them the truth. 

She loves the two of them to the moon and back, but she fears what damage their meddling can do. While she does not want them handing her number out to just anyone, she decides that placating them with something they want to hear may be her best option to keep them away from it all.

“I… suppose… I am curious about her.” Diana speaks slowly. “I don’t know if I should jump to assumptions, however.” Still not quite a lie.

“Oh, don’t you worry. She’s gay for sure.” Hannah says dismissively. “Did you _see_ how she looked at you?”

“ _And did you see her fingernails?”_ Barbara adds quietly.

“She is definitely into you.” Hannah says with a quick nudge to her girlfriend, Barbara snorting in response. “Why wouldn’t she be? I mean, LOOK at you. If _you’re_ worried, _everyone_ should be.”

Diana’s face turns beet red.

_‘Ohhhh….. this was a mistake.’_

Diana coughs. “Uh… m… th-thank you Hannah. W-we shall see… I suppose.” The blonde says as she tries to quell the pink in her cheeks. “I…uh… I should get dressed before she uh… gets here. Ahem. Excuse me.”

Diana rises from her chair, closing her book (she’ll find the chapter she left off at later), and embarrassedly makes her way to her room as her two roommates watch after her, excitedly bringing their hands together in a quiet high-five.

* * *

About a half hour after Diana had finished getting re-dressed and hiding away any research or belongings in her room that she didn’t want to be seen or disturbed, she feels a buzzing in her pocket followed by the sound of a knocking at the door.

Diana looks at the phone and sees the number from earlier pop up on the screen with the message _‘I’m here!!’_

Hannah and Barbara bounce excitedly on the couch watching as Diana steps out of the room. After silently appraising her choice of outfit the two give the blonde four big thumbs up. Diana blushes and lets out an audible sigh.

_‘I can’t believe this…’_

A weight of trepidation lays across her shoulders as she approaches the door. However, as her hand touches the knob, not yet ready to turn it, her mind brings her back to the café.

To the girl offering to split a cookie. To the girl who had cleaned her hands and had gotten to her knees to clean up the mess of spilled tea on the floor. To the kind eyes…

With a deep breath and a set of her jaw, Diana wills herself to open the door.

Outside she sees Akko with a big smile on her face, protectively clutching a large backpack held tightly to her chest.

“Hey Diana!”

“Akko.” Diana allows a small smile as she takes in the sight of the girl hugging the backwards backpack.

“Sorry I called so late… I kinda got back from… work… late…” She says as she looks around the corner of the door to see Hannah and Barbara quickly pull their heads back to focusing on the TV screen. “Um… but yeah… I gotta give it back tomorrow and I thought you might… I dunno… appreciate it. Being a history nerd and all.” Akko says with a teasing wink.

Diana hears Hannah snort from the couch and a slight blush heats her cheeks as her mind goes wild in thought. 

_‘How should I try to handle this? If she’s got something she’s stolen she can’t just bring it out in front of Hannah and Barbara. But in the same token, I can’t just pull her into my bedroom so she can show me in private. The girls would have an absolute field day…’_

_‘Well, she seems to understand that Hannah and Barbara aren’t in on anything… so… I doubt she would start going into detail in front of them… but then again… would she?’_

_‘I’m not bringing her to my bedroom. I am not risking surveillance or separating myself from the girls out here. So… that means this is going to happen here. Okay.’_

Diana takes a breath and allows a rigid attempt at a disarming smile cross her face. “Alright, well… you _have_ piqued my curiosity. What is it?”

“Oh! Yeah, here…” Akko nods excitedly as she begins to shuffle with the bag, unzipping it from the top. After securing her hold on the lower half of the bag, the brunette pulls the flap down to reveal –

“Oh my God.” Diana chokes out in a whisper as her arms fly forward to cover the treasure, looking around to make sure no one is eavesdropping.

In a panic, she pulls Akko inside, careful to keep a hand on the bag to make sure its contents stay in place. Once Akko is through the threshold, she shuts the door behind them. “Come with me.”

Ignoring her previous hesitations, Diana leads the brunette down the hallway towards her bedroom.

‘ _What could she be thinking bringing that here!?’_

“O-oh. Hi Hannah! Hi Barbara!” Akko says quickly as Diana pushes her to her bedroom, Hannah and Barbara barely having the time to raise their hands to wave by the time she and Diana disappear into the room and shut the door.

The two girls stare at the newly shut door with dropped jaws. _Definitely_ not expecting the blonde to be so _forward_.

Akko, slightly shocked by being so forcibly led through the house, clutches the bag tightly to her chest as Diana turns on her heel to face her.

With a slight pallor to her already pale skin tone, the blonde lowers her voice to a panicked whisper. “What are you thinking? The theft of the _Noyau de L’univers_ is all over the evening news! What if someone saw you bring it here? Do you have _any_ idea of how valuable that is?”

Akko is taken aback by the other woman’s words for only a moment before a light of excitement flashes across her eyes. “Oh! So you know what it is!!”

“Yes, of course! It was an enormous finding.” Diana squints at her, not quite understanding how the girl didn’t know how big of a deal this particular piece meant to the anthropological community. “Don’t you do research on… _whatever it is_ that you’re stealing?”

“Well… I mean, yeah…. But… I mean… that’s not really _my_ specialty. I’m more of the… grabby, chatty, lockpicky girl…” Akko shrugs sheepishly.

Diana shakes her head with disbelief. The _Core_ is the largest maritime discovery since the discovery of the _San José_ at the bottom of the Caribbean. Tonight, when news broke of its disappearance… well… evidentially _theft…_ the news stations and online anthropological and archaeological communities started going wild debating and trying to figure out where it could be.

She and her mother would read about stories of pirates and luminescent star maps based on the existence of the _Core_ , and here she was… in her bedroom with the priceless artifact and its captor.

“Wait… so… _You_ stole that?” Diana asks, seemingly doubtful that the girl in front of her could have potentially pulled off the heist of the decade.

“Well, not _just_ me.” Akko says before a bloom of pride settles in her chest. “But I mean… I don’t want to brag… but it was actually pretty easy once we got the plan down.”

Diana looks at her incredulously.

“And don’t worry. Nobody knows.” The brunette grins with a confident assurance. “I’m kind of a professional, I would have noticed if I was being followed.”

Diana grits her teeth uneasily as a pang of guilt reverberates through her chest.

Diana clears her throat. “Be that as it may, why are you carrying it around?” The blonde asks, less so worried about the brunette getting caught, but more so for the risk of damage for the crystal artifact. “Not that I condone it, but isn’t that a little careless?”

Akko takes a breath and tightens her lips as her shoulders shrug thoughtfully. “I suppose… But I’ve been super careful with it.” She says still hugging it to her chest. “And… it’s so beautiful. It’s kind of a shame to keep it all hidden away…

Diana looks at her as though she were reprimanding a self-righteous child, then the brunette begins unfurling the lip of her bag to display the crystal ball littered with layers of gemstones.

“There’s not a lot of people who would ever get this chance to see something so incredible up so close.” Akko smiles softly, looking deeply into the spattering of gemstone stars. She lifts the ball from her bag, cradling it securely in her arms as she looks up towards the blonde, her eyes welcoming. “And since you’re into the historical artifacts and stuff, I thought you’d appreciate it. Just look.”

Diana bites conflictedly at the inside of her mouth as her eyes land on the sparkling crystal, her curiosity betraying her.

Her face softens as she looks upon the swirling layers of crystal studded with diamond, ruby, sapphire, and topaz inlays. The glittering light reflecting off one another gives the contained universe movement, a breath… a reminder that the manmade star’s celestial counterparts hosted the beginning, the end, and all of the in between of all life they had ever known. 

Diana moves in a little closer, studying the remarkable craftsmanship as her eyes rove over the limits of the previously known universe, remembering the stories her mother had told her of the stars gifted to the sky from the Olympians.

Akko notices the troubled crease between the blonde’s eyebrows fade as she explores the night sky resting in her arms. A small smile touches Akko’s lips as she feels a slight heat in her cheeks.

“It is beautiful.” Diana says softly before taking one last longing look and stepping backward, almost afraid that if she were to look too long the pressure from her gaze could crack it.

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Akko grins, not once taking her eyes off the blonde. “Turn off the light.” She says as she moves towards the blonde’s bed.

Diana’s eyes widen at the request, her cheeks taking on a slight pink hue as she sees the girl crawl over her covers, placing the crystal ball safely on the duvet. Her lips tighten as she watches Akko dig excitedly into her back pocket, pulling out her phone.

The blonde hesitates. As genuine as the brunette seems, the spark of caution in the back of her mind warns her incessantly that this could be a trap.

‘ _How is she so trusting? How can she come here thinking that I’m a thief and not have a single worry about me trying to take this artifact from her? She gave me a heads up that she was coming, how can she be so sure that I wouldn’t be setting up any trap in return? What is her angle? WHAT is she trying to do!?’_

Conflicted blue eyes look up to meet the woman sitting cross legged on her bed. Her burgundy eyes look soft, her posture vulnerable, every aspect of the clearly capable criminal betrays the need for caution Diana had been preparing herself for.

“You’ve gotta see this in the dark. Trust me.” The brunette says giddily as she turns on her phone flashlight and slides her phone beneath the bronze base of the crystal globe

‘“ _Trust me”? Akko, how can you ask me to do that? I can’t tell if you’re more manipulative and dangerous than I can identify or if your intention is good. Trust? Everything you’ve done has convinced me to believe that your nature is kind, but I can’t trust myself to recognize if I’m being conned.’_

“Diana?” Akko asks, a concerned look taking over her features.

Diana looks back at her, frozen… unsure of what to do.

“Are… you okay?” The brunette questions softly before she takes in a sudden sharp inhale. “Oh! I didn’t even think! Are you afraid of the dark?” A wave of disappointment washes over Akko’s crimson eyes as Diana raises her brow. “I mean… it’s still really pretty this way… if you’d rather not turn off the light.” Akko offers, devolving into rambles, feeling foolish that she hadn’t considered the possibility. “But it’s really not super SUPER dark. There’s actually a whole lot of light actually… It’s just… ahh… I mean… I guess you could think of it _sorta_ like a night light. It’s just so… but you don’t have to if you’re not comf–”

And then the room light goes dark as Diana flicks the switch and the stars of the universe take over every inch around them.

‘ _Wow_ ’ Diana’s breath hitches as she stands by the wall looking around her bedroom now camouflaged with the essence of infinity.

Her hand falls from the light switch as she begins to walk further into the room, into the dark abyss of space amongst the thousands of suns and their worlds. As she turns, she feels herself fall into the illusion, accepting the suggestion of seeing more than just the reflection of light on the walls, but the map of stars… the night sky’s guide… just as those lost at sea would rely on to get home.

Her eyes rove the walls, her desk, the floor, her bed, and the girl sitting amongst her covers whose eyes shine almost as brightly as the glistening crystal ball sitting before her.

Trust… logic… chance and possibility… all of Diana’s questioning dissipated just as the switch of the lights made way for the visible sprawl of universe surrounding her.

No one who wished her harm would have gotten into a ramble over the possibility of her being afraid of the dark. She isn’t…. but it wasn’t until then that every fiber in her being was urging to her trust the girl. Not for the curiosity of contents of the _Core of the Universe,_ but for the faith that there are still genuine people who will come into her life.

When she was younger, her mother would tell her that despite the research and predictions that are so highly valued in the world of archaeology, following the intrinsic pull of your gut’s instinct can lead you to the most remarkable of findings.

Now all she can do is hope she won’t regret it.

But as she looks at the girl, smiling to herself in the glitzing light of the projected star system, seemingly blind to the value… to the vice of greed… instead choosing to take an immense risk to share the beauty of an intimate moment with the _Core of the Universe…_ she feels confident in her heart that she won’t.

‘ _Perhaps the girls are right… she at least deserves a chance.’_

Diana’s eyes find Polaris among the parade of constellations and she feels a sad smile come to her face at the memory of her mother’s stories. She wishes she could have been here to see this.

“It’s incredible.” Diana sighs contentedly as she continues to pick out the star formations strewn across her bedroom. She then takes a breath and smiles softly at the brunette who had turned to face her. “Thank you for showing me.”

At the softness of Diana’s words, Akko’s face bursts into a wide grin. “You’re welcome.”

Diana walks over to the bed and takes a seat, tucking her leg beneath her as she looks deeply into the intricate gem-lit crystal ball. She reaches out to touch the ridges and carvings twisting around the bronze base, just ghosting her fingertips over the metal. “What are you going to do with it?”

Her smile softening, Akko takes a breath. “We have a buyer. The person who reached out to us is apparently an ancestor of the ship’s captain and they were really enthusiastic about recovering it.” A look of disappointment washes over her features as she looks up to the ceiling. “I just hope it’ll be able to be really seen wherever it ends up... It’s too special to just be locked away.”

A sad smile comes across Diana’s face as she watches the brunette through the array of spotted light. “That would be quite a shame.” She says before carefully shifting herself on top of the bed and laying down, her eyes getting lost in the stars.

Akko looks towards her from the movement, somewhat surprised to see Diana behaving so relaxed, and feels a soft warm glow in her chest.

‘ _Maybe we are okay…’_ Akko smiles before leaning back onto the bed to join the blonde, crossing her arms over herself as the _Core of the Universe_ rests on her phone between them.

The two lay in silence, resting on the covers of Diana’s bed, taking in the stars, and sharing the moment of the illusion of floating in extraordinary endlessness.

“Some of my favorite stories my mother used to tell me were about the constellations.” Diana says just louder than a whisper, disrupting the silence. She smiles softly as she allows her eyes to course the walls tracing along the cross of Cygnus before jumping to Altair and continuing her trek through Aquila. “She passed when I was young but the stories and the stars have always been a comfort…” She trails off, continuing her way around the Summer Triangle.

Akko frowns as she looks over to the blonde. “I’m sorry.” She says sympathetically.

Diana takes a breath and shrugs her shoulders over her sheets. “I’m quite certain you have nothing to apologize for.” She says, an uneasy weight laying thick over the words, as she continues to look throughout the galaxy.

“It sounds like you had a nice relationship with your mom.” The brunette smiles sadly, the slight distressed tone in her voice causing blue eyes to shift from the stars towards her.

“I did.” Diana replies softly, a feeling of concern coming over her as she sees the other girl’s eyes sadden before a quick blink reaffixes her eyes onto the ceiling. She watches her curiously.

“I don’t remember my parents very much…” Akko gulps. “I used to like to think that maybe they had to go off and do something really important or… maybe they did what I do and they got caught or something…” she laughs an empty laugh before clearing her throat. “They left me home alone when I was three and the next thing I knew I was in an orphanage.”

Diana’s eyebrows knit together as she feels a deep ache in her heart. She looks down somberly into her duvet. “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been.”

“It was rough in the beginning…” The brunette takes a breath before turning her head to face the blonde, a small smile touching her cheeks. “But that’s where I started to find my real family.”

Diana looks back at her, noticing the reflection of the universe studded in light on the backdrop of crimson irises.

Akko maintains her soft smile as she finds herself drawn in by the other girl’s eyes. She continues to look at her, at how her soft hair folds upon meeting her sheets, the way the light of the stars splash up over her shoulder and cheek, smearing over her nose and forehead, and the way her lips are tightened into a concerned frown, hoping to see their corners upturn into a smile. It’s then that she feels a heat begin to rise in her cheeks. As subtly as she can muster, she clears her throat and turns her attention back to the stars above.

“I wish I could have known them… but then I think about what kind of people they would have to be to leave their three-year-old alone and not come back, y’know?” Akko takes a deep breath and exhales with a smile. “But I’m happy with how things are. I wouldn’t give up my real family for the world.”

The blonde cracks a soft smile as she can’t help but think of the two girls outside in the living room. “I can understand that.” With one last look at the brunette, hands holding one another over her chest, she returns her eyes to the ceiling.

The two fall back into silence among the shining sea of colored gemstones. That is, until a * _thud* “ow”_ is heard right outside the door.

Akko jumps up startled as Diana closes her eyes and tightens her lips, begging the blush to recede from her cheeks.

She should have known Hannah and Barbara were going to try to listen in. She was so caught up with every other thought of what _could_ happen, she didn’t even consider the one thing that would happen _without a shadow of a doubt_.

Diana lets out a quiet sigh as Akko’s caution melts at the memory of the blonde saying that her roommates would be trying to listen to their conversation the first time she came over. The brunette lets out a small giggle, drawing the attention of the girl laying on the bed. Diana can’t stop the humored smile from cracking on her face.

Thankful that the darkness is covering any sign of the heat in her cheeks, Akko allows herself to admire the blonde’s smile.

And just as all good things must come to an end, Akko realizes that it must be past midnight.

“I think it might be time I should head home.” Akko sighs with a sheepish smile, despite not wanting to end her time with the blonde.

Diana sits up on the bed and pulls out her phone to see the time stating quarter past midnight. “That might be a good idea, I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten.” She rises to her feet and begins to walk through the stars towards the light switch at her door. She knows she’ll have to try to figure out how to explain to Hannah and Barbara why she turned the lights off with Akko in the room… and while she can already feel the embarrassment of what she _knows_ they’ll probably be thinking, she resolves with waiting to worry about it until she is asked.

With one more look into the universe she is likely not to see the same way again, Diana flicks on the switch, the stars fading away into the light.

After Akko grabs her phone and turns off the flashlight feature, she picks up the backpack and muslin she had set aside earlier and begins to carefully rewrap the crystal ball.

Diana watches her, seeing someone completely different than who she anticipated would be at her door at the start of the night. Despite the sense of trust she feels she can permit the other girl, there is still a heavy weight clouding her chest.

Once Diana sees that the nearly priceless treasure is stowed away behind the bag’s zipper, she opens the door to her bedroom to hear a rushing and see the heel of Barbara’s sock disappear around the corner of the hall towards the living room. She takes a breath, reminding herself not to worry about what they’ll ask until it becomes relevant, before turning to the sound of Akko approaching the door, backpack held securely at her chest.

Diana leads the brunette down the hall towards the front door. They pass the living room and look inside to see two _suspiciously placed ‘sleeping’_ girls huddled together on the couch. Diana rolls her eyes.

As Diana fiddles with the lock on the door Akko turns to her with an awkward smile.

“Alright, well… thank you for letting me come over so last minute.” She scratches at her head while holding the bag close to her with her other arm. “And for being so cool about the… phone number… thing…”

Diana lets out a humored breath as she meets the other girl’s eyes. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Her smile then turns soft as she lowers her voice. “Thank you for showing that to me.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Akko grins widely causing Diana’s smile to regrow just a bit.

Diana nods her head lightly before shrugging her shoulders with a breath. “Well… get home safely. And be careful with – .” She gestures her head towards the bag.

“I will, don’t worry.” Akko assures her before turning to the ajar door. As she walks past the threshold, she pauses and turns to the blonde one last time. “Have a goodnight, Diana.”

“Goodnight.” Diana says, meeting Akko’s eyes with a warm smile.

Akko cheerily waves goodbye before looking around outside and heading down the walkway. 

After making sure Akko gets to her car safely, Diana shuts the door, the smallest of smiles still on her face. The moment she turns back to the hallway she sees both Hannah and Barbara, _wide awake_ , standing less than three feet away from her with aggressively expectant expressions. 

“What happened?” They demand in unison.

Diana flinches as a blush rises to her cheeks. As she takes a breath, her mind races trying to think of something for the dreaded upcoming conversation. “You mean you two didn’t hear anything listening by the door?”

The two glare at her, arms folded in front of themselves, looking very much like mirror images of the other.

“Irrelevant.” Hannah states, her eyes narrowing. “Spill, Cavendish.”

* * *

About ten minutes later, after _seemingly_ placating the two girls with a story about Akko showing her a passed down piece of luminescent Japanese pottery, Diana falls backward onto her bed.

While habit itches at her to do a sweep to make sure there had not been any listening devices placed, Diana pushes the urge out of her head and stares at the starless ceiling. If her gut tells her to check in the morning she will, but right now she feels confident that the brunette girl’s cause for visit was nothing but genuine.

She continues to look at the walls of her bedroom, finding that it feels far smaller than it did before Akko had come over. Her eyebrows knit together as she traces her eyes along the corners of where the wall meets the ceiling, reimagining the depth of stars she had instead been tracing not a half hour earlier.

‘ _What am I doing?’_ Diana asks herself before rolling to her side, giving up on the hope that her walls would once again open up to infinity and instead refocuses on the brunette girl with the kind crimson eyes.

‘ _I trust her.’_ She worries _. ‘I just feel that she’s separate from this… but…’_

Her eyes harden and she clenches her jaw.

_‘But I don’t know if her teammates are.’_

Diana picks up her phone that had been sitting next to her on the bed and begins tapping through to her recent messages. She stops when she sees Akko’s message from earlier, ‘ _I’m here!!’,_ staring her down, daring her, through the screen. She bites her lip and stares at the message for a few seconds longer before she comes to her decision.

She clicks the caller information button beside the newly familiar string of numbers and saves ‘A-K-K-O’ to her contacts.

_‘I can’t keep guessing. I have to know.’_

She hopes and wishes that what she does will all be in vain… but she is going to find out if these people are working with the Sons of Clytius once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! There's a bit more into some of Diana's motivation! I absolutely loved writing this chapter and the scene with the two on the bed amongst the stars with Hanbara interrupting them was one of the image milestones I was striving to hit when I started writing this story. So I really hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Also, I know I haven't been doing as I did for B&B and SoH, but I have created a bit of art for this chapter which can be found on my tumblr ( superevilbadguy.tumblr.com ) I hope you guys like it!!!


	9. Why We Lie and Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks of a seeming blossoming of a relationship, it appears as though while some feelings have changed, suspicion and caution have come to a head. As scared as she is to discover the answer, Diana has a plan to find out just what kind of people Akko’s been working for, once and for all.

Diana’s eyes run over the text and pictures on her laptop's screen, her fingers dancing across her keyboard editing text and adding any final touches she believes will be necessary to make sure this will work.

Her date and location had been set. Over the last few weeks, with seemingly star-aligned luck, she had been busy creating the perfect plan to determine whether the girl who had let her lay among the stars was a part of a group with far darker intent.

Her eyes turn from the screen as she hears a soft chime from her phone. She shifts the screen to see who had texted her and that consistent pit of guilt makes itself known in her gut as she sees Akko’s name pop up in the banner.

They had been talking regularly since she had come over with the _Core_ three weeks ago and their conversations had been… far from suspicious… if she were honest. Diana had concluded that Akko alone isn’t a danger to her, however, that says nothing about the people she works with. If she was so easily able to trick the poor girl at the cafe, there’s no doubt that a member of the Sons of Clytius could be wielding her as a puppet without disclosing the truth. 

Diana feels awful that she’s been misleading her… first, the tracker and now this… but if she’s lucky, this will be the last time she’ll have to deceive her.

Satisfied with what she sees on the screen, with a deep breath and the begging words of “what you’re doing is necessary” repeating in her head, Diana clicks her mouse and sends the document to an editor of the England Archaeology and Art Magazine and Blog who had owed her mother a small favor.

The Blog post should go live once her connection receives it, as per their agreement.

Diana sighs with a troubled pinch to her brow as she picks up her phone to reply to the brunette’s message asking what her favorite flavor of ice cream is. Her heart races in her chest in anticipation, that heavy guilt bouncing against her ribs with every beat. As much as she wants to know once and for all, she finds herself fearful of the answer.

Now all there was left to do was wait.

If Akko is a part of this, she’ll know by tonight.

* * *

“So what are you taking?” Amanda asks, leaning back in her chair as she looks at Sucy on the other side of the café table.

The purple haired girl hums as she places her cup of herbal tea on the table, taking a moment longer to think before answering. “I’ll take your pants.” She says decisively.

Amanda’s eyebrows raise as she cocks her head, she, Akko, Lotte, Jasminka, and Constanze looking at her curiously. “Okay. _How?_ ”

“Slip a hand sanitizer wipe into your back pocket and pull out a lighter.”

“You’d light my ass on _fire?!_ ” Amanda gapes.

“Well, you might start by hitting at it which would only soak the alcohol into your pants more. But if you’re smart, you’ll pull ‘em down and stamp out the flame. I’d tell you to back up as I pour some hot tea on your pants and then boom. I grab and go. And with any luck your questionable pride will keep you from following me outside.” Sucy says with a lackluster shrug of her shoulders. “And yes, before you ask… I do, in fact, always carry around a lighter and alcohol wipes among other things. So, it is plausible.”

The group stares at her contemplating her answer. It’s vaild. Sucy lifts her tea to her lips once more with a sip.

“I just can’t believe you’d light me on fire.” Amanda huffs.

“It’s nothing personal.” Sucy says into her cup.

Over the last year or so, the group had taken to playing a game they named “How would you rob me?” The objective is that they choose an item of one of the others and then explain how they would go about stealing it from them with minimal prep work. It’s all in good fun, and methods usually met with criticism or suggestion from the rest of the group, but they find the game proves to be a good way of figuring out how the others would be thinking during a job if forced to improvise. It’s very important to trust your teammates, and what better way to know than to see how they think?

Plus, it’s a way of talking shop in public without _actually_ talking about work.

Just a bunch of weird college kids playing a weird game.

“Why wouldn’t you just tell her that you’ll meet her in the back room in five minutes?” Avery chimes in as she brings over the toasted croissant Jasminka had ordered earlier and places it onto the table before the pink haired girl. She has grown quite accustomed to this odd game that this group plays when they come visit her café.

“You’d get the pants off without ruining them.” She finishes with a teasing wink and a pinch to the redhead’s arm.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Amanda blushes with a humored roll of her eyes.

Amanda and Avery had a slight… thing… after the team helped resolve the café owner’s bad ex-boyfriend issue. It didn’t last long, but despite not finding company with eachother in a romantic way going forward, the two still shared a teasing, flirty relationship.

Avery knows that the group are involved in some… questionable business… though, not quite to the extent of grand theft.

“I’m afraid that move won’t work on me anymore, Aves.” Amanda returns her wink and smile as a slight blush heats her cheeks. “Your girl here dun got scooped up.”

“Oh?” Avery’s eyebrows climb her forehead. “Well, I offer whatever poor soul got conned my condolences.” She teases, followed by a few giggles from the rest of the group. “Good for you, Amanda. You be good to whoever she is, you hear?” The café owner bumps her elbow into the redhead’s shoulder and flashes her a genuine smile.

“Yes ma’am.” Amanda salutes, causing the purple haired girl to roll her eyes.

“So, can I get you guys anything else for the table?” 

The group answers in mass a chorus of “no”s and “we’re good”s before Avery nods her head and tells them to let her know if they do find that they want anything and then heads back to the counter.

For a moment, the only sound that can be heard is Jasminka biting into the crispy puff pastry as the rest of the group look expectantly towards Amanda.

“Soooo…” Akko starts, unable to contain her smile. “You, Hannah, and Barbara are official??”

“Why didn’t you tell us??” Lotte pouts.

The second that Amanda had asked Lotte about Nightfall merch (because she wanted to get the girls some gifts and was stuck on Barbara’s interest), much to Amanda’s dismay, Lotte had become deeply invested in her apparent relationship with a fellow fan of the book and new film series.

With a crooked smile pushing at her cheeks, Amanda looks up at them as she takes hold of her bottle of artisanal root beer. “Well, they asked this morning…”

“THEY ASKED!?” Lotte’s eyes sparkle.

“Yeah, yeah…” Amanda blushes as she tries to hide her smile by bringing her drink to her lips. “Things were just… going really well, ya know?” She shrugs. “And as long as I keep them far away from this stuff we do they’ll have plausible deniability and be safe, so, I figured why not give it a shot.”

“Look at you getting soft.” Sucy smiles as the rest of their friends look toward the redhead with a chorus of soft “aww”s.

“Psh! I ain’t getting soft.” Amanda chuffs, folding her arms in front of herself before her expression grows wily and a smirk stretches on her lips. “Speaking of soft… Hey, Akko. How are things going with blondie?”

Akko’s eyes widen a fraction as she feels the heat rise up her neck. “Ah… um…”

“We were trying to watch a movie last night and I think she was texting her the whole time!” Lotte giggles.

“H-!”

“Yeah… that look on your face was definitely not because of watching The Conjuring…” Sucy says teasingly.

Akko shoots an embarrassed glance over to her two best friend roommates before turning to face the rest of the table, Amanda looking at her with eyebrows wiggling furiously.

“Hot convo, huh?” Amanda teases.

“Oh my god, no!” Akko groans as she covers her beet red face in her hands. “It was nothing like that! We were just talking, okay?”

“Okay, okay! I was just playin! _Geez!_ ” Amanda laughs alongside the rest of the group as Akko slowly uncovers her reddened face. 

Akko takes a breath to quell her cheeks before chiding herself. ‘ _I’m a grifter for Christ’s sake! Get it together me!’_

“So… things are going… well?” Jasminka pries, a slight lilt of hopefulness evident in her voice.

Akko looks up towards her and feels a shy smile push at her warm cheeks. “I think so. She’s pretty fun to talk to.”

The group eyes her, clearly waiting for more details as Akko scratches the back of her neck.

“I dunno, we talk about a bunch of stuff.” Akko shrugs. “She’s like. Really smart.”

“Do you talk about work? You haven’t confessed to any thefts over text have you?” Sucy raises an eyebrow.

“No!” Akko pouts, a little offended that Sucy has so little faith in her. “Like… we’ve talked about paintings and statues, but nothing about stealing. And I haven’t told her about you guys yet.”

“Good.” Sucy nods. “Keep it that way until we know she can be trusted.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Akko rolls her eyes. As much as she feels she can trust the blonde, she understands her friend’s concern. She has to protect her family, and if there’s even the slightest chance that Diana could be betraying her… one, Akko has to give her credit for conning a con… and two, she wants to make sure there’s as little collateral damage as possible. This was something they had agreed upon a long time ago. The less overlap between lives the better.

“You figure out how she got that statue yet?” Amanda asks, running her hand through her hair. “I just can’t figure it out. It’s killing me.”

“I don’t know!” Akko shrugs, dramatically lifting her arms. “I keep thinking that there could have been an inside man, but she says she worked alone!”

“I can’t believe that.” Amanda shakes her head in disbelief. “If she could do that job by herself, she’s a master thief and _I_ would have heard about her.”

“Well, maybe the reason you hadn’t heard about her is _because_ she’s that good of a thief.” Sucy states.

Amanda opens her mouth to retort but stops and frowns.

Constanze pulls out a pen and begins to scribble on the napkin in front of her. “A ghost?” she asks, written in blocky handwriting across the paper.

Lotte’s eyes open wide. “You think she faked her death and is going by an alias?”

“I mean, I guess that would explain why we didn’t find anything on her…” Amanda grumbles.

“Wait! You guys did a deep search on her??” Akko pinches her brow angrily.

“What? We don’t know if she’s some psychopath.” Sucy states. “And we still don’t know… her digital footprint is like… nonexistent…”

Constanze nods.

“Though,” Lotte chimes in, “we did find some archaeology articles and an obituary for someone with the same last name but that’s about it.”

Akko frowns before coming to a realization as she thinks back to what the blonde had said about her mother that night with the _Core_.

Sighing, Akko crosses her arms in front of her and fixes her friends with a serious look. “Can you please… not… do that anymore? The last thing I want is for her to think I’m a creep.”

“We’re just lookin’ out for you.” Amanda shrugs. “You seriously don’t think that she did a search on you before your café date? I mean… she wouldn’t have found anything…” Amanda points to Constanze who in turn proudly nods her head, “… but I’m sure she tried.”

Akko bites her lip as she considers the possibility.

‘ _She’s… probably right…’_ Akko is hesitant to admit.

“Still…” Akko starts, “I like her and I want to be…” she pauses as she looks at the five sets of eyes looking towards her almost a little too expectantly. “… her _friend…_ so I don’t want to ruin that if she somehow finds out my family has been stalking her.”

“Well… it’s too late now.” Amanda smiles awkwardly. “But I don’t think there’s any point in lookin’ anymore, so, we won’t tell if you won’t.”

Akko stares blankly at the redhead before she hears a singing _ping_ in her pocket.

“Oh! Is it her?” Jasminka smiles enthusiastically as both she and Lotte raise their eyebrows in interest.

Akko blushes as she quickly pulls her phone from her pocket. Once the screen lights up, she sees a text from Diana received about an hour ago, but also another more recent message from an unknown number.

Akko’s blood runs cold.

_“F says he saw L near the old place. You and AO be careful, I don’t know where he’s been. – AH”_

‘ _Andrew?’_ Akko’s eyes pinch together as she rereads the message and focuses on the final initials.

“Is it really her?” Amanda questions, excitement on her face.

Akko’s tongue goes dry as she looks up at her friend.

‘ _I can’t tell her. If she knew Louis was back…’_

“Ah. Oh. Um yup!” Akko says nodding her head as she shoves the phone back into her pocket with a big nervous smile on her face.

Amanda narrows her eyes and smirks. “With that kind of reaction, if you want to respond to her, please, go right ahead.” The redhead wiggles her eyebrows before being elbowed in the side by Jasminka.

“Oh, leave her alone.” The pink haired girl tells her as Amanda holds her side where Jasminka’s elbow hit her rib.

“Ah! Geez. She knows I’m playing! You know I’m just playin’, right Akko?”

Appreciative of Jasminka for unknowingly giving her a moment to compose herself, Akko clears her throat and lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Just… easy… c’mon. _We’re in public.”_

Amanda rolls her eyes. “Fineeee.” She sighs before her own eyes widen just a fraction as she feels a buzz in her pocket along with the sound of phones chiming around the table.

Akko hesitantly pulls her phone back out from her pocket and is immensely relieved to see Ursula’s familiar phone number.

“ _Hello ladies. Study session at the house today at 3. Drive safe!”_

“Looks like we’ve got a new job.” Sucy says as she bends her neck to the side with a crack. “Guess we should be heading back to campus soon then.”

“I need to stop and get some gas on the way, too.” Jasminka mumbles, perhaps more thinking out loud, as she begins checking in her bag for cash.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to get there early.” Lotte smiles before taking one last drink of her tea, emptying the cup and placing it on the table as the other shrug their shoulders and finish off their drinks and pastries.

“You all done for today?” Avery says as she comes over to the table gesturing to take their emptied cups and crumb laden dishes.

“‘Fraid so. Duty calls, after all.” Amanda smiles at the purple haired girl before the young café owner rolls her eyes.

“Be safe you guys.” Avery looks around the table before her eyes land on Amanda once more. “I know it’s hard for you O’Neill, but don’t do anything too stupid.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” The redhead responds with the wave of her hand.

The rest of the girls collect their belongings and bid Avery goodbye before pushing in their chairs and heading out the door.

“So,” Lotte says as they begin to head towards the cars. “What do you think it is?”

“Holy Grail.” Amanda says without skipping a beat. Behind her, Sucy rolls her eyes.

* * *

The entire ride back, Akko’s mind had been dwelling on Andrew’s message.

It’s been years since the two of them had spoken.

‘ _What could Louis be doing back?’_ Akko worries. ‘ _Could his dad have gotten him out? But then why am I just hearing about him now?’_

Louis’s father is the country’s Minister of Defense, so it wouldn’t have been impossible… but still. If he had done something like that, it would have been all over the news, but last she checked, Mr. Blackwell was still very comfortable in his very powerful seat.

Back when they were young, once Akko found Amanda, she had introduced her to another group of her friends with a similar taste in misplacing previously owned belongings: Andrew Hanbridge, Frank Robinson, and Louis Blackwell.

Louis always had a harsh temper and tended to act out more aggressively than most. Amanda and he had gotten into a fair share of brawls in their younger years, and due to the butting of heads, she had felt the need to overperform when working with him… making her reckless and angry. Amanda became dangerous when she was around him. Both for others and for herself.

Honestly, separating from that group… separating from him… was the best thing that could have happened for them. While Andrew and Frank were great to work with (Akko genuinely would have considered Andrew a friend), Louis commanded himself as leader of the ‘Pack’, as he had called them.

Ultimately, on what ended up being their final job, they had gotten into trouble and the team ended up getting disconnected from Louis. Ever since they lost him that night, he had fallen off the map and it seemed that nobody had heard from him since. It had been a struggle for Akko, whether or not to feel the guilt she does about leaving him behind.

At the time she told herself she had no choice… she finds she still has to remind herself of that.

After the job, they had cut off all communication as to not have any tie with Louis just in the case that he had spoken. Andrew and Frank had grown up as childhood friends with the Blackwell boy, but Akko and Amanda were new additions, and the boys knew there was a chance for the two of them to get out of the eye of suspicion, so they had helped them out.

That had been years ago… and this was the first time anyone aside from Amanda had gotten in contact with her from that part of her life. How did Andrew even get her number? Could he still be in the game?

She had a suspicion that maybe he had been the one to help Diana with the Meriliad heist (he was quite tech savvy despite how he carried himself), but the blonde insisted that she had worked alone.

Maybe she’ll ask him… juuuust to be sure.

‘ _What am I thinking? No! If Louis is out there the last thing we should do is get involved with each other again. Louis was a vengeful guy then… if he didn’t try to turn the rest of us in yet, there’s a reason. He could be dangerous. Very dangerous.’_

Akko bites at her bottom lip as her fingers hover over the keypad on her phone before she is bumped back into reality at the feeling of the car driving over a pothole. She looks up at Lotte with her hands on the wheel, lip syncing to the song playing on the radio, and Sucy in the passenger seat resting her feet resting up on the dashboard.

Lotte and Sucy knew very little about her time in Louis’s “Pack”. They knew Akko and Amanda had gotten involved in some crime they weren’t proud of with them and that they would prefer it to be left in their past, but Akko had never gone into full detail of their time together.

_‘I can’t tell them… If they know they’ll get worried and tell Amanda, and if Amanda knows that he’s around she’d hunt him down…’_

_‘I can’t let her get like that again.’_

Akko’s brow pinches, as she forces herself to take a breath.

_‘It’s gonna be fine. She doesn’t have to know unless it becomes necessary, and we’ll still have each other’s backs, just like always. It might not even be something we have to worry about. For now, I’m gonna keep it quiet and I’ll play it by ear. Okay? Okay.’_

Successfully convincing herself that she’s making the right choice to keep this new information close to her vest, Akko decides against responding to Andrew’s message, _just in case it wasn’t really him_ , and begins to go back through her missed texts and sees one from Diana.

“ _Would you be interested in seeing a movie Saturday night by any chance?”_

Akko’s eyes widen as she feels a sudden warm fluttering overtake her chest.

‘ _Oh my god? This is a real date?! She’s trying to ask me on a real date?! I can’t believe this is happening!’_

Akko rereads the message twice more just to be sure she hadn’t misread and scrolls back in conversation to double check the content just to be sure Amanda wasn’t playing some prank on her.

All thoughts of Louis and danger ejected far from her mind.

“ _Absolutely! I would totally be intneeesd!”_ Akko responds speedily.

“ _Interested*”_ She corrects with a second text, mentally berating herself.

After a few moments of smiling so hard her cheeks ache, Akko sees the “…” indicating that Diana is responding. She begins to physically wiggle in her seat as she waits excitedly for her reply.

“ _I am very glad to hear that”,_ Diana’s reply pops up on the screen before a second message follows. “ _Did you want to see Triskellion: The New Nine?”_

Akko smiles at her phone as, for the first time in this entire car ride, she settles back comfortably into her seat as she types back a reply. As she waits for Diana’s response, she looks out the window noticing the beauty of the sun glinting on the outline of the clouds and finds herself humming along to the soft love song playing over the radio, now hitting her just a little differently than it had two minutes ago.

* * *

Once they arrive back on campus, they meet back up with Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze and then as a group, make their way towards the Tutoring House. They walk up the front walkway and knock at the door, Amanda rapping out a unique pattern so that Ursula knows it’s them.

Soon after the knock, the six hear a faint “Come in!” from inside the house. Amanda reaches for the doorknob, finding that it is already unlocked, and opens the door for the rest to follow in.

As they walk in, they see Ursula furiously scrolling through her computer, papers and notes strewn around her desk as her eyes focus heavily on her screen.

“New job?” Amanda asks as she walks towards the living area, throwing herself over the couch arm, the rest following as usual.

“Ah… yes.” Their mentor states distractedly as she takes her eyes away from the computer screen and quickly scribbles down some notes on the piece of paper nearest to her. After another moment of looking between the paper and the computer screen as the girls get themselves comfortable in the living area, Ursula gathers up her papers and her laptop and joins the rest of the group, hooking up her computer to the projector.

“Okay, girls. Thank you for meeting up with such short notice.” Ursula starts as she shuffles around some of the papers in her hands. “I… didn’t have very much time to prepare a proper briefing, but this particular job runs a bit time sensitive.”

“Our favorite.” Amanda smiles as she nudges the interested Akko beside her.

“How time sensitive?” Sucy looks at her with a lazily quirked brow.

“Saturday night.” Ursula states, her face as hard as stone. “We have two days to prepare.” 

“Oh. Wow.” Amanda says as her and the groups eyebrows shoot up to the top of their foreheads. This is _very_ short notice in comparison to their past jobs.

Akko’s expression, on the other hand, falls as a sickly pit drops into her stomach.

‘ _Saturday? But…’_

“Yes. I do apologize that it is so sudden, but this can be a very big job for us.” Ursula says, her tone coming off as more somber than apologetic. With a click of a button on her laptop, the projector brings forth an image of a mass building with the words, ‘ _Luna Nova Museum of History and Art’,_ stretched along an architectural marvel of an entranceway.

The group was familiar with the Museum; they had taken walks through the towns in Somerset on other occasions due to it being only an hour and change from their homes, but they can’t say they’ve ever taken part in anything within the Luna Nova Museum of History and Art.

“The Luna Nova Museum of History and Art will be hosting several new Roman and Grecian collections in its season reopening, however, the piece we are going after is not going to be on display.” Ursula navigates her laptop, the cursor flying over the projector screen to another tab. She brings up an image of an elderly woman standing proudly behind a massive mahogany desk with a large display of photographs, paintings, and small statues on a matching shelving unit behind her.

Ursula then points to the shelves behind the woman at what appears to be a marble statue of a three faced woman which was partially obstructed by a picture frame holding the certificate for an ‘Excellence in Exhibition’ award. “This is what we are going after.”

Akko looks at the statue and frowns. It doesn’t seem very big… or jewel-y… or particularly special. Is this really going to be worth missing her movie with Diana?

“This piece, the ‘ _Idol of the Moonlit Witch’,_ has not been seen or heard about in over 300 years. Now, I’m not certain how long the museum owner, Miranda Holbrooke,” she points to the older woman in the photo, “has been in possession of the piece, but seeing as though it has been kept in her private office, that could explain as to why it has not been seen.”

Ursula then places her laptop on the table near the projection screen and begins shuffling through her papers. She pulls out one sheet with a crudely pencil-drawn floorplan. “Now, unless its interior has changed since the last time I had been through, the office area should be on the first floor… back here in the hallway behind the front desk reception area.” Ursula points at the drawing. “We will have to double check though.”

“Okay, so, if it’s not going to be on display what’s the rush on going for it on the day of the reopening? I’m sure we can get in and out of the old lady’s office when she goes for a bathroom break anytime.” Amanda asks, folding her arms. Akko looks up towards Amanda at her question and eagerly looks back towards Ursula for any waver in resolve for the date of the heist.

Ursula nods her head in understanding before taking a breath. “While I have no doubt in you girls’ ability, I’m afraid we may have some competition in acquiring this piece. So… I would not like them to be tipped off ahead of time and adjust the security detail.” 

“Competition?” Lotte asks. “Who else is interested in it?”

Ursula looks towards her and for a moment her eyes look troubled. “I… am familiar with another collector who has been looking out for this statue, and if I was able to find it, I’m positive they have seen it as well.”

“Are they the buyer?” Jasminka asks.

“Ah. Not quite. I don’t have a buyer just yet… but it would be… a shame if they had gotten to it before we could.”

“Well, then shouldn’t we try to go for it tomorrow night instead?” Akko asks suddenly, worrying at the inside of her cheek. If she could get this job to be done on Friday that means she should be home free for Saturday!

The rest of the group turn to look at her as if she were insane.

“Are you crazy?” Sucy looks at her judgingly. “We don’t even know the layout, let alone what kind of security they have yet.”

Akko deflates, but then lights up once more. “But isn’t that the fun of it? Thinking on your feet? With every job that we’ve done we must have something ready to get out of one situation or another?” She tries.

Ursula smiles meekly at Akko. “You girls have shown that you have the instinct and the ability, don’t get me wrong… but I do fear that we may only get one opportunity for this.” Their mentor then looks around to address the rest of the team. “I wish I could give you girls more time to prepare, but, at least in the past, Holbrooke traditionally hosts a guide and unveils the new exhibits. It would be the perfect opportunity during Satuday’s reopening to get in for the statue and get out.”

Despite the girls looking at their mentor a bit unsurely, Ursula has always put their safety first in the past, so, if she thinks they could pull this off with two days of prep, they should be able to trust that she knows what she’s saying.

Constanze is the first to nod her head. She knows she’s usually a part of the job from a distance, but she knows that with her new and improved Stanbug she should be able to get camera access easy. If she were able to get there tonight, she should be able to sneak him in through a vent shaft or a cracked window and they could get visual in no time.

“Yeah, aright.” Amanda shrugs. “But I want to do the snagging. I’ve been the distraction too many times for my liking.”

The rest of the group joins in in accepting Ursula’s job. Akko resigns herself to do it with a disappointed sigh. Movies play on plenty of nights… they would be able to set another date, right?

With a clap of her hands, Ursula smiles at her team before shuffling through her papers. “Excellent, so where do we want to start?”

* * *

By the end of their meeting they had acquired the building’s updated blueprints (which had in fact changed since Ursula’s walkthrough, but also showed that the hallway with the offices had not changed location), expense reports and digital receipts showing purchases of updated security technology, staff report and background, as well as noticing from the picture that the shelving unit in Holbrooke’s office was armed with a vertical laser grid. Apparently just because the pieces behind her weren’t going on display doesn’t mean they don’t need protection.

They discussed potential plans of action and Akko happily accepted the role as distraction as Amanda gleefully jumped at the chance to do the actual break in. Lotte and Sucy decided they would pretend to be visitors to assist Akko, and the last they heard before they went to take a drive to the museum to install Stanbug, Jasminka and Constanze would hang back with Ursula at the Tutoring House monitoring and acting as communication.

No matter how well it seemed they were planning the heist out, Akko couldn’t see a way of herself being able to complete the job and then make it in time for her movie date with Diana.

It was during the ride home with Lotte and Sucy that she decided to take out her phone and start slowly typing the words she was dreading to say.

“ _Hey, Diana. I’m sorry. Something came up for me on Saturday. Do you think we can try again for Sunday?_ ” Akko rereads the message with a frown.

‘ _Hopefully she’ll be able to do it on Sunday? I mean… things come up all the time. She might find that she’s busy on Saturday too…’_

After a sigh, Akko sends the text and finds herself holding her breath as she impulsively watches her screen for any sign of Diana’s reply.

To her relief, it wasn’t long until she sees the ‘…’ pop up on the chat screen.

“ _Oh. That is unfortunate. I’m sorry to hear that.”_ Diana’s reply pops up on the screen, shortly followed by a second. _“I’m unsure about Sunday, but I’ll let you know.”_

Akko’s heart sinks in her chest as her fingers hover over her keypad. It takes her a moment, but a soft hopeful smile comes across her lips at her thought. “ _How about I throw in a dinner too? My treat.”_ She types out before sending.

This time, the reply takes a little longer. It’s just as Akko, Sucy, and Lotte get back to their apartment that Akko gets the notification of Diana’s reply.

“ _That sounds nice, but I will still have to let you know.”_

“ _Okay, sounds good! : )”_ Akko types in response, trying to mask her disappointment with the smiley face. Shortly after, she receives another text that settles like a black hole in her gut.

_“I should be going to bed. Have a goodnight Akko.”_

* * *

“ _I should be going to bed. Have a goodnight Akko.”_

Diana finishes typing and sending her message before letting her phone fall away beside her as she lay on her bed.

She brings her clenched fists up and frustratedly bumps her forehead before opening her palms and covering her face.

“Damnit…” Diana whispers to herself, the word catching in her throat as she begins to feel the threat of prickling behind her eyes.

She had hoped almost desperately for it not to be the case… she was so sure that Akko couldn’t be working with the Sons of Clytius… she was too kind, too thoughtful and genuine.

As much as she needed to know the answer once and for all, she had so badly hoped that this wouldn’t be it.

Akko’s team had taken the bait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What could possibly go wrong? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	10. Between the Spiders' Webs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the night of the Luna Nova heist for the Idol of the Moonlit Witch. Despite the short notice, the girls find themselves confident going in. Akko still feels badly about having to cancel on Diana, but hopefully when the job is done, she'll be able to make it up to her.

Despite being so busy preparing for the Luna Nova heist, Akko still found time to worry about whatever it was that just happened between her and Diana.

Ever since Akko had asked to postpone their movie date, the blonde had been very sparse with her responses. And even when she did respond, her answers and conversation were brief and distracted, as though an invisible wall had been erected between them.

Akko truly felt bad about not being able to meet up with her, but sometimes people have to change plans! It’s hardly fair to cut off communication just because she couldn’t make it to one get together! And she even offered to take Diana out to dinner for Sunday night! It’s not like she was trying to stand her up!

Once this job is done, she’ll have plenty of time to try to reconnect with her. Maybe she’ll even invite Diana over to her apartment. She wonders if Lotte and Sucy would have a problem with her dropping over…

But that is a concern she will have to act on later! Now, Akko and the team are moving into position to start their heist for the _Idol of the Moonlit Witch._

Akko, dressed in a pair of high waisted jeans and a t-shirt she had picked up in a tourist trap, makes her way down the streets of Somerset to the grand entrance of the Luna Nova Museum of History and Art.

The building itself was four stories with hundreds upon hundreds of statues, paintings, history, and more, and still, it boggled Akko’s mind that the piece they were going for was locked away in the museum owner’s office.

Again, like the _Silver Hound_ , it didn’t seem overly special or glitzy or famous (hell, she hadn’t even heard of it before two days ago!), but she trusts Ursula, and if she has anything to say about it, no way is she going to leave this place empty handed like they had at the Meriliad.

As Akko walks up to the glass front door she sees Amanda, her face currently obscured by a pair of two tone sunglasses, wearing a pair of exercise pants and a Bristol University hoodie, a posterchild of your average college student, standing outside of the building, pretending to look at her phone.

Amanda had gotten there approximately 15 minutes prior along with Sucy and Lotte at the opening of the museum’s doors. While they knew the layout of a majority of the building, due to Constanze’s Stanbug’s sneaky camera infiltration a few nights ago, Sucy and Lotte had come early to scope it out a little further. It didn’t hurt to have a little more familiarity with the place, especially with the short notice of it all. Besides, the two of them had a _very_ important event they had to set up for…

Oddly enough, for the size of the museum, the security is surprisingly lacking. The camera locations leave a ton of blind spots, including Miranda Holbrooke’s office along with the other offices in the back hallway. It seemed a little strange that there would not be security cameras on such important locations, but on the same token, maybe the higher ups designed it that way for their own privacy?

Constanze thought it sounded dumb. The whole group did. But if anything, it made their job just a fraction easier.

Even though they were going into the office blind, there was no danger of showing up on a feed and alerting anyone while trying to nab the statue.

Without giving Amanda a second glance, Akko enters the building and makes her way to the line for entry purchase.

‘ _Alright, so what do we have going on in here?’_ Akko thinks as she lets her eyes rove around the first floor of the museum.

With strategically placed walls providing a base for exhibits and paintings as well as fine architecture that on its very own could be considered art worthy of the admission fee, it looks a lot larger than the building plan and exterior would suggest. Beyond a few exhibit walls cordoned off by stanchions and velvet rope barriers, she can see an ornate marble staircase heading towards the second floor.

They only need to worry about the first floor for this job, but that doesn’t make the staircase and its superbly rideable railing any less tempting.

Akko’s eyes shift towards the crowd with Ursula’s words of warning to keep an eye out for any other suspicious museum goers (not unlike themselves), whispering in her head.

She really didn’t like the idea of there being a competition in getting this supposedly deceptively underwhelming piece… but the last time there was an apparent race to get a piece, she met Diana… so…

Maybe it won’t be all bad.

Akko moves up in the line and notices a few people walk in the door behind her.

“ _Dancer in.”_ Akko hears Amanda’s voice quietly over her earpiece.

A group of two walk in and get in line behind Akko, before Amanda steps along behind them.

 _“Perfect.”_ Ursula says. “ _How’s it look in there? Anything unusual?”_

 _“Nothing weird yet.”_ Lotte’s voice sounds over the comms. “ _Myco and I just finished setting up.”_

 _“Excellent.”_ Ursula says with a soft relief in her voice. “ _On your go, Dancer.”_

“ _Got it._ ” Amanda says quietly as a few more people file into line behind her.

Akko’s heart races as she hears the word “Next!” come from the woman at the counter before taking another step forward in the line.

She’s only four people away from the front desk and from the first step of their job.

Akko pulls out her wallet and makes sure its contents are where they should be.

Once she gets up to the front desk and starts… working… with the admissions staff… Amanda will give Lotte and Sucy the go ahead to set off their distraction and allow juuuust enough time for the redhead to make her way into the back hallway.

The line steadily grows behind them, its only about 15 minutes from the start of Holbrooke’s tour after all, but Akko’s focus lies on the shortening line before her. She moves forward once more as the person in front of her moves to the desk.

‘ _Okay. We’ve got this. Let’s get Amanda home safe.’_ Akko takes a calming breath before she looks up to the women working behind the front desk.

The girls had looked into Anne Finnelan and Marina Pisces for something they could use once they found out that they would be working the night of the unveiling. Despite being so short notice, they think they figured the perfect plan.

Marina Pisces, a middle-aged woman dressed in a colorful abstract floral dress (a stark difference to her coworker who felt the occasion instead demanded a solid gray frock), smiles at the woman before her at the desk, taking the money passed over the counter and handing her a green wristband for admittance.

“ _Ready to work your magic, Snowshoe?”_ Amanda whispers over the comm.

A small smirk crosses Akko’s lips as she forces herself to believe in her own confidence. “ _もちろ_ _ん_. _”_

Marina Pisces looks up at Akko with a smile and ushers her forward. “Next!”

‘ _Lez do dis.’_

Akko steps towards the woman with a big smile.

“こんばんは. これはとても美しい建物です. あなたは、ここで働くのを楽しむか?”

Akko suppresses the urge to snort while, as expected, the woman looks at her with wide eyes and mouth opened like that of a fish, unsure of how to answer the slew of foreign words greeting her. 

“ _Go.”_ Akko hears Amanda’s voice giving Lotte and Sucy the go ahead on their next step.

“Ah. Ah. I... I’m terribly sorry. Um.” She turns and looks desperately towards Anne, who suddenly seems VERY invested in her current guest. With a sheepish expression, she turns back to Akko with an apologetic tilt to her eyebrows. “Um. Do you speak E-N-G-L-I-S-H?” 

Akko frowns in confusion and furrows her brow, testing the word on her tongue. “エング- おお! 英語! はい! Oh. Ah. Y-yes!” Akko beams at her.

Pisces visibly lets out a sigh of relief before her smile returns to her lips. Slowly, she starts again, “Okay good! Admission is fifteen pounds.”

Akko frowns again and “tries” to figure out the words. “Pounds...”

“Money?” Pisces offers, her smile faltering. Akko can practically see her sweating.

Ever the actress, Akko’s eyes brighten as the smile returns to her lips. With a nod she reaches into her bag and grabs her wallet, pulling out a 1,000-yen bill and a handful of yen coins. 

All light fades from Pisces eyes as she realizes that she has to try to tell the smiling Japanese woman that she can’t accept her currency.

Suddenly in a clamoring of slapping footsteps, a woman runs up to the counter.

“I don’t want to cause any alarm or anything but there’s an opossum crawling behind the exhibit over there.” Lotte manages to say quietly, despite her expression showing devastating panic.

Finnelan looks over the redheaded woman in alarm as Pisces looks as though God has graced her.

When not working in the museum, Marina Pisces is heavily involved in feral animal rescue and volunteers over at the animal humane society.

How very fortunate…

“Anne, I’m going to go control the situation.” Marina says almost a little too eagerly, leaving no room for the other woman to protest, before stepping around the side of the desk and jogging back towards where Lotte had been pointing. “Take over for me!”

Anne’s jaw drops as her current guests take hold of their wristbands and begin walking away from the desk, hesitantly looking over to where the other woman had run off to. Her eyes then return to the brown-haired girl looking towards the commotion with a confused look on her face.

Akko smiles at her and with a heavy accent says, “Hello!”, while enthusiastically holding out her yen to the older woman. 

Suddenly there is a loud shriek from the rear of the museum hall and everyone in line turns around to try to see what is going on. Everyone except for Amanda, who within the moment, effortlessly vaults and slides over the front desk and slips away through the doorway and into the supply closet just beyond the door to the office’s hallway.

‘ _Step 1 complete.’_ Akko smiles. 

After the reaction to Sucy’s shriek had quieted, followed by Marina and some security assuring the crowd that everything was okay, everyone returns to business as usual.

No one seemed to notice Amanda’s mysterious disappearance except for the person who had been standing directly behind her. When returning to face the front of the line, he looks around briefly and promptly shrugs, moving forward in the line to the space where the redhead in the college sweatshirt had been standing previously. 

With any luck, the guy won’t think too much further into it, perhaps just thinking that she slipped out of the line and left.

That, as it just so happens, is exactly what the footage will show if security decides to look back over the tapes of the night.

With Constanze in control of the cameras, she should be freeze framing the moment of everyone looking towards the scream and then replacing the following frames of Amanda leaping over the desk with multiple pre edited images. So, if they do decide they want to re-watch, they’ll see and empty hallway with no disturbance to the supply closet, and Amanda ducking underneath the guide rope for the line and leaving out the front door.

Akko’s got to ask her where she finds the time to learn how to edit movies along with absolutely everything else that she does.

Once everything quiets, Anne returns her tired eyes to the brunette with a subconscious sigh. She looks down at the yen and then back up at Akko. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, we cannot take that money. Admission is fifteen pounds.”

Akko looks at her and shakes her head, pretending to not understand.

Finnelan tries to explain again and Akko stretches out her act of confusion a liiiittle longer. It may have just been the overhead lights, but the woman’s graying hair looked like it was getting whiter by the second, so Akko decides it was about time to give her a break.

“Oh!” Akko’s eyes brighten again, not unlike the first time when she had pulled out the yen. She reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a handful of 5 pound notes and hands it over the counter towards the woman. Finnelan sighs in absolute relief as she takes the 15 pounds and joyously gives the brunette a bracelet and calls on the next person, quickly moving Akko away. It’s then that Pisces brushes past her on her way back to the desk. 

“Funny, there was no opossum. Someone only mistook one for a gray hat and a scarf!” Akko overhears the woman say, a smile crossing her lips as she fastens the paper bracelet around her wrist.

“ _Very convincing scream, Myco.”_ Akko says quietly once clear out of earshot of the front desk.

“ _Shut up.”_ Sucy replies over the earpiece.

Akko smiles, stifling a giggle as she looks down to her wristwatch.

‘ _Okay,_ _10 minutes til game time.’_

Now all that’s left to do is wait until the unveiling begins. 

As she waits, Akko looks around the main floor, heeding Ursula’s warning about keeping an eye out for other thieves or strangely behaving guests. As she continues her way around the foyer, perusing the crowd as well as the art already on display, Akko can’t help but go back to her questioning on the importance of tonight’s objective.

‘ _Some of this stuff is really cool!’_ Akko hums, as she passes by one piece, a sculpture of a golden bow, drawn back by a bodyless hand. She reads the plaque encased in the piece’s glass exhibit:

**‘ _The Will of Artemis’_**

**_– Donated by a loving friend and fellow scholar._ **

Akko leans in, her eyes roving over the golden string, seeming appearing to be pulled taught from the stunningly detailed disembodied fingers.

_‘Seriously, this is so much cooler than the three-faced lady… what could possibly be so special about her?’_

* * *

After ten minutes, Amanda feels the desperate need to get out of this cramped closet and give her back a stretch. Just as she tries to adjust her position to something a little more comfortable, she freezes at the sound of the click of an opening door along with the soft voice of Miranda Holbrooke ending a phone conversation.

‘ _Alright, it’s go time.’_

Amanda listens closely as the older woman, the owner of the museum and… probably the least corrupt art collector she’s ever pulled a job on… closes the door with a click and takes out a lanyard of jingling keys to lock the door. Amanda waits, patiently listening as the woman slips the keys back into her pocket before the sound of her footsteps indicate that she is making her way down the hallway towards her.

Holding her breath, she hears the woman humming softly as she passes the supply closet, her footsteps quieting as she steps through the threshold of the hallway and out onto the main floor.

Once she hears the women at the front desk greet her, Amanda takes a breath and excitedly awaits the go ahead to step out of the closet and stretch.

It only takes about ten seconds until she hears Ursula’s voice in her ear. “ _Halls clear and the security office is settled. You’re good to go. Be careful Dancer.”_

Slowly, Amanda pushes the closet door open just enough for her to be able to slip out and to shift out of sight of any doorways. Just as Ursula said, the hall was empty and quiet.

Silently, Amanda begins to make her way down the hallway. There were two other offices between her and Holbrooke’s door. Using her sunglasses, Amanda angles the glass to see around the door and into the first office. Seeing that no one was facing the doorway, she quickly slips past with a silent stride towards the next, following the same caution.

Once she reaches Holbrooke’s office, with a small smile she eyes the lock on the door.

Yeah, Akko’s specialty might have been lock picking, but Amanda wasn’t too shabby at the craft either… With a determination in her chest and competition in mind, Amanda pulls out her tools, checks her watch, and sets to work… dying to rub her time in the brunette’s face.

After 29 seconds of jimmying and being rewarded with a quiet *click* of the lock shifting, Amanda pouts, knowing for a fact that Akko has done this type of lock in 20 seconds flat. With the desire to flaunt her picking time at the brunette dampened, the redhead carefully turns the knob and pushes through the door with her gloved hands before slipping inside. 

Amanda quietly pushes the door closed, leaving it open just a crack before looking around the room. Just as it had looked in the photo, the mahogany desk lined with papers and an ornate lamp stood in front of the matching display case filled with plaques and statues. To the side stood a filing cabinet adorned with some old looking ceremonial headwear alongside a chair and end table displaying the clapper of a massive old church bell.

While the rest of the museum was well covered by camera monitoring, once Stanbug got a hold of the feeds it became evident that the office space was one big dead zone. Whether this was for confidentiality or some other less honorable reasons, they didn’t know, but no cameras means no security looking in on her and less footage to manipulate. As a counter however, this is the first time, aside from what could be seen in the photo, that Amanda has seen the room.

“ _I’m in. Easy peasy.”_ Amanda whispers as she sneaks further into the room, eyes looking around the room to be certain the only security in the room was the alarm on the shelf.

After peeking under the desk to find nothing outstanding, Amanda turns her attention to the display shelves, looking into the collage of awards and artifacts with a frown.

* * *

“… _Easy peasy.”_ Ursula hears Amanda’s voice come over the comm headset, prompting a sigh of relief.

‘ _Okay. This is good. We’re so close and nothing’s out of the ordinary just yet. Just in and out girls…’_ Ursula thinks, trying to calm her racing mind as she and Constanze watch steadfastly over the monitors of camera feeds and Jasminka munches on a snack over their shoulders.

“ _You sure we can’t make this a little more interesting?”_ Ursula hears Sucy’s voice over her headpiece. “ _This ‘Telesterion Chalice’ is right up my alley…”_ She says as she passes the display, filtering along with the rest of the crowd being ushered into a group by Holbrooke.

Ursula was about to tell the girl that this was not the job for souvenirs, but instead she pauses, pinching her brow with a frown. “The… _Telesterion Chalice_?”

“ _You got to pick the extra stuff last time!”_ Akko’s voice says over the comm. “ _What about this ‘Daughter of King Lycaon’? You like bears right Grizzly?”_

Ursula’s eyes widen as a dryness takes over her mouth. ‘ _Wait…’_

“What other artifacts are on display?” Ursula asks suddenly with an urgent tone, silencing Jasminka’s rustling of chips and drawing a concerned glance from Constanze.

“ _Uh… ‘Throne of Vulcan’, ‘Eye of Athena’, a bronze plate… says ‘Ares Wrath’…”_ Akko lists quietly as she walks along with the rest of the group.

Ursula stiffens and feels a chill wash over her shoulders as her suspicion is confirmed. ‘ _How did I miss this? These are all Bernadette’s…’_

“ _Uh… Grizzly… I’ve got a problem.”_ Amanda says over her earpiece causing Ursula’s breath to hitch. “ _I’m not seeing any three faced witch in here… could they have moved it out to display?”_

 _‘No…’_ Ursula’s heart drops. Her mind racing as fear begins to take her over. ‘ _How…?’_

She is suddenly startled to attention by Constanze hitting the desk in alarm. The shorter girl points to the screen at a man dressed in what looks like a security uniform heading back behind the admissions desk.

Ursula’s mind continues to run as she looks at the feed. ‘ _Why would he be heading behind the desk? Security entrance is on the other wall…’_

Upon closer inspection she realizes that the uniform looks off… and the shoes…

Just then he turns and his face can be seen in full by the camera. Ursula’s eyes widen with recognition.

“Amanda. You need to get out of there NOW.” Ursula demands, panic evident in her voice.

“ _Woah, codenames Grizz-”_

“It’s a set up. There’s a man heading towards the office. He looks like security but he’s not. You have to hide!”

* * *

On the other end of the earpiece, Amanda starts to panic. She looks around the room for anything to hide in or under. “ _There’s not a lot I can do… um…”_ the redhead grumbles as she sizes up the objects in the room. The only vent she sees is too small, even for her, and anywhere she could hide would prove an easy challenge for anyone who had a minute to look.

Just then an idea pops into her head.

“Okay… I’ve got something… I can buy a few minutes but I’m gonna need you guys to start an evacuation QUICK.”

“ _We’re on it.”_ Akko, Lotte, and Sucy’s voices say in unison.

“ _Hurry. He’s almost on you.”_ Ursula warns. 

Even without Ursula telling her she can hear the man’s footsteps nearing closer and closer up the hallway. Waiting until just the right moment, Amanda takes a deep breath and whispers more to herself than the others “Okay… here’s hoping this works…” and waves her hand through the invisible security barrier protecting the shelving display.

The alarm was silent. But the sound of thundering footsteps making their way down the opposing end of the hallway from the security office assures Amanda that her plan had worked.

The door had been pushed open by the man from Ursula’s warning just as Amanda slipped beneath Holbrooke’s mahogany desk. He’s not given the time to come in because in that moment is when the security guards turn the corner seeing the strange man in the act of entering the office. Amanda hears as the man sprints off down the hallway, followed by several members of the security team.

* * *

Akko, Lotte, and Sucy, along with a majority of their fellow guests, turn towards the commotion at the front desk and the crowd begins to murmur restlessly at the sound of guards radioing for a lockdown.

The three girls move towards each other in the crowd watching as the security team chases the man through the lobby.

“Okay, what are we going to do?” Lotte asks Akko and Sucy in a whisper as she looks around the panicking crowd.

“Any bright ideas Miss. ‘It’s more fun thinking on your feet’?” Sucy, donned in the furry hat and grey scarf that had earlier been ‘mistaken’ for an opossum, looks towards Akko.

“Ah… um… uhh… ” Akko wracks at her brain. “They would have to evacuate if the smoke alarms go off, right? How about a fire?” She looks back and forth between the two of her friends, gauging their thoughts.

“You want me to light a museum on fire?” Sucy deadpans.

“Don’t you have chemicals that… don’t… burn everything?” Akko looks at her in desperate hopefulness. She really doesn’t want to add ‘successful arsonist’ to her resume.

“Unless this entire place is made of asbestos. No.” Sucy says before looking around the room. 

Saying nothing, Sucy walks off leaving the other two watching her in confusion. The purple haired girl stops at a metal garbage can and looks inside before pulling off her scarf and tossing it in. She then reaches into her bag, pulling out a bottle of hand sanitizer and a lighter. She unscrews the cap, manages to look entirely inconspicuous as she takes off the furry hat, coats it with sanitizer, and brings the lighter to it before dropping it in the trash.

Sucy walks back to the two of her friends, their expressions still curious.

“The alcohol wont smoke… the fabric will…” She explains

“It… it’s safe?” Akko asks looking over towards the can that was just starting to let out whisps of smoke.

“Yeah. Unless nobody puts it out.” Sucy rolls her eyes.

Akko pouts at her. “… You know… you don’t have to be such a jerk about it…”

Lotte silently watches the two of them for another awkward moment before taking a breath and starting to yell “Run! Fire!” and drawing the attention of the crowd toward the smoking garbage can.

* * *

Amanda holds her breath as she pushes herself further into the corner of the mahogany desk’s underside. While a majority of the security detail had gone after the perceived intruder, one stayed behind to look over Holbrooke’s office to account for anything that could have been missing. He had been making his way around the room for anything amiss and was steadily moving towards Amanda’s side of the desk to continue his inspection.

It’s then as the guard steps around the desk giving Amanda a clear view of his boots, that she feels an immense relief the moment the sound of her heart pounding in her chest is drowned out by the scream of the fire alarm. 

The security officer jumps and pulls out his walkie and yells into the receiver. “What’s happening out there?!”

“ _There’s a fire in the lobby. It’s contained for now but we have to evacuate.”_ Amanda hears the static voice of the security officer and lets out a sigh of relief as the alarm blares over her.

“Where’s the runner?” The officer in Holbrooke’s office yells past the alarm.

“ _We lost him in the crowd. We didn’t see anything on him though.”_

“Damnit.” The officer sighs, looking at the shelving unit one more time, trying his damndest to find out what the guy had taken. Nothing looked to be missing. “Alright,” he says, a frightening command in his voice as he turns with a purposeful stride and rushes out of the office and down the hallway towards the sound of panicked yelling. “Did anyone grab an extinguisher or call the FRS?”

Amanda allows herself to breathe for a moment before slipping out from under the table. Sweat running down her forehead, she rushes over to the doorway and presses her back against the wall, listening closely past the sound of the alarm for the sound of footsteps. The alarm leaving a residual ring in her ears makes her question what she’s hearing. With a shaking hand she pulls up her glasses once more and angles them down the hallway, trusting the sight more than her ears. Seeing no one, Amanda turns out of the office and rushes down the hallway towards the emergency exit and stairway on the other end. She pushes through the door, not caring about any additional alarms that could go off and slips down the emergency stairway and out into the cool night.

* * *

“ _Snowshoe, Sprite, and Myco are out.”_

Ursula sighs in relief as she hears Akko’s voice over the comm, fire alarm blazing in the background.

“And Dancer?” Ursula asks, her fingernails digging into her palm as her teeth bite down on her lip.

There are several moments of silence that fill the older woman to capacity with fear. ‘ _This shouldn’t have happened. Please Amanda, say something.’_

At last, her and the other two girls listening anxiously beside her are doused with relief as Amanda’s voice picks up over the earpiece.

“ _I’m out. What the fuck was that?? Who set us up??”_

“I…” Ursula hesitates. “Don’t worry about that now. Let’s get you home. Get away from there and make sure you’re not followed, understand?”

Ursula looks up to Jasminka for only a moment and the pink haired Russian girl nods her head in understanding before grabbing her keys from her pocket and turning on her heel towards the door.

“Sweets is on her way. Let her know where you’ll be.”

“ _Copy.”_ They all say.

Once Jasminka shuts the door behind her, Ursula sits back and covers her mouth with her hand.

‘ _That was far too close. I can’t believe I fell right into that… and the girls… They don’t even know how much danger they could have been in.’_

Beside her, Constanze clicks away at the computer footage, finishing fixing and manipulating anything she can with Sucy starting the fire and Amanda racing down the hallway and out the emergency door.

Amongst the footage she sees a frame with the man dressed like a security officer. She looks over his face again, certain of the place she had seen him before.

‘ _He’s definitely the same man from the Meriliad.’_

Ursula thinks back to the night of the Meriliad Heist, after finding out the _Silver Hound_ was a fake and going over the footage of the East Gallery. It was Lotte who pointed out the frozen frame in the East Gallery itself by noticing the sudden appearance of a man leaving the room and entering the foyer. If they hadn’t gone over the footage of that moment so many times to determine whether the East Gallery’s camera was frozen, she never would have remembered his face, but because they had, she is certain that this is the same man.

‘ _Was he watching us then too? How could he have known? Is he working for Cr–’_

The sound of the front door swinging open startles her attention away from the screen.

“Grizzly… We’ve got a problem.”

Ursula turns to see Jasminka in the doorway, keys still in hand, with a knocked-out-cold Diana Cavendish slung over her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intended translation:  
> もちろん = Of course.  
> こんばんは. これはとても美しい建物です. あなたは、ここで働くのを楽しむか？ = Good evening. This is a very beautiful building. Do you enjoy working here?  
> エング- おお! 英語! はい! = Engli– Oh! English! Yes!  
> \---
> 
> Hey everybody! I'm sorry that this chapter took SOOOOO LONG to get updated. The motivation has been a challenge to harness and the holidays took a lot of attention from me, so, I apologize. But hopefully I can get back into the groove at the start of the new year (fingers crossed). 
> 
> One more chapter until we finish the 1st arc, and then onto the 2nd!
> 
> I wish you all a Happy New Year and thank you for reading!!!


	11. Coming Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a misstep following her plan to distract Akko’s team with a false tip on the ‘Idol of the Moonlit Witch’, Diana finds herself in a daunting position. However, it’s not only her that will be effected by being captured.

Diana awakens to a painful throbbing in her head. She scrunches sluggish eyes, trying to will the ache away, but finds the attempt to be in vain. She lets out a low groan as she moves her hand up to massage her temple, but finds that her arm remains steadfastly fixed at her side. Her eyes shoot open, just as blind as she had been while they were closed, she finds herself surrounded by darkness with what feels like nothing but a folding chair and wrist bindings as her company. Her mind runs trying to think back to how she got here… she remembers saying that she’ll be back later while Hannah and Barbara were setting up dinner… she remembers being in her car… she remembers seeing the Blytonbury Campus sign…

The pain in her head is temporarily forgotten as her mind snaps back into reality on high alert. She hears the blood rushing into her ears as her heart begins pounding erratically in her chest and she can feel her body start to tremble at the realization that she had been caught.

Caught by the people who had taken her mother from her.

Her breath begins to quicken as she desperately fidgets in her bindings and looks around the room, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness allowing her to make out what appears to be a few coats and a vacuum.

“H-help! Please!” Diana cries out, her voice cracking from the tightening of her throat accompanied by the prickling of tears behind her eyes.

‘ _What’s the point? They won’t let me go… there’s no use. Oh God, what was I thinking? I never should have come here! I couldn’t have just disassociated myself, I just had to investigate. Damn it.’_

Diana grits her teeth and balls her fists, straining against the binding in one last ditch effort before letting herself go limp. Her aching head falls forward weakly as she allows the chair to take on the duty of holding her upright.

The whole purpose of tonight was to set up surveillance when she knew a majority of them would be out trying to find the _Idol of the Moonlit Witch._

Which _still_ hasn’t been seen in over 300 years.

The picture of Holbrooke’s office was a fake. With a little image editing, it was simple to take bits and pieces of other artifacts and merge them together to fit the picture of the statue drawn in her mother’s book. As is the benefit of working with a piece that hasn’t been seen in over several centuries; she was given a little bit of creative freedom.

Once Akko confirmed that she and her team had taken the bait, Diana dreaded having to use the information she had gathered from monitoring the tracker she had placed on the girl.

Despite the little red dot spending a majority of its time in one place – Diana assumes to be Akko’s home after finding out that the location is that of an apartment complex – there were a few occasions that the tracker showed her moving towards the Blytonbury Community College.

Now, through conversation, Diana knew Akko had at one point gone for higher education but was no longer taking classes, so, for what reason would she be going to the campus? Not to mention, it was the first location she had gone after meeting up with Diana for that coffee.

However, what truly made her question the location is the finding that despite the tracker being seen to head onto campus, once in a specific area – which she later discovered to be a housing unit supposedly used for tutoring and study – she found that the tracker would disappear and then reappear hours later after leaving a certain range. At first, she thought it was a glitch in the application, but a week and a half later when she watched the tracker return to the campus, the same disappearance occurred again.

She assumed that this meant there was some sort of signal blocker, which embedded the nail of suspicion of base location into the metaphorical coffin.

She confirmed this by visiting the campus and conducting her own stakeout of the building. However, upon seeing the laminated sign on the front door – “ _Tutoring Hours by Appointment Only”_ , as she watched, she realized she couldn’t determine who or how many of these people entering the building were in fact students looking for tutoring and who was an agent of the Sons of Clytius.

She wanted to put up some surveillance while she knew at least a few of them would be out and there’d be a decreased chance of being noticed… but look how that ended up for her.

She had only managed to set up a solar powered microphone pack in the shrubbery outside of the front door and was taking a few photographs of the surrounding area and cars before she saw the pink haired girl rushing her.

‘ _What was I even thinking I would do with whatever I found here? I should have just taken the knowledge that they were Sons and kept quiet. Though… they knew who I was and knew I had the Silver Hound. It wouldn’t have made a difference… They have to know who my mother was.’_

 _‘If I played dumb they would have probably kept quiet as they have been, but now that they know I suspect them…’_ A conjured image of her water bloated mother flashes through her mind and her stomach goes sour. ‘ _Idiot.’_

As she holds back a shaking breath, fearful tears begin to run down her face without permission.

‘ _They have no reason not to do to me what they did to my mother… but… oh God… Hannah and Barbara… Hannah and Barbara are connected to Akko and Amanda now. No. What if they think they’re a part of this?’_

Diana’s mind moves to her two best friends. She knows Akko said that holding people hostage isn’t what she does, but how can she be sure? She can’t trust her now!

What would happen if they threatened her friends if she didn’t tell them where the _Silver Hound_ was? What if they threaten to kill them?? What would she do? She could never live with herself if she let her friends get hurt, but… her mother died to keep this mission secret and information safe.

What will she do with this impossible choice?

Her mind thinks back to her aunt. They had their differences, sure, but Diana still loved her. It breaks her heart thinking that she would be leaving her the same as her sister, disappearing without ever getting the chance to say goodbye. Her mind is racing and the sickness in her stomach grows as her thoughts whirl around and around inside her head. Guilt and sadness and pain and fear all coupled with the threat of unconsciousness if she doesn’t try to control her breathing.

‘ _Okay, Diana. You have to calm down. You have to think. There’s got to be something you can do.’_ Diana takes in a few deep shuttering breaths as she tries to halt the tears from coming to her eyes.

 _‘They don’t know where the Hound is. So, if I cooperate, I just have to think of an answer that will seem plausible and buy me enough time to get out. As long as this is the same house, there’s only that one door but there are multiple windows.’_ Diana thinks, wracking her brain for what she remembers of the house’s exterior layout as she once again begins to start shifting in the seat trying anything to loosen the hold on her hands. _‘If there’s no window, I’m either in a hallway closet or a basement… if I’m in a basement I seriously doubt they would leave the door unlocked… I’ll worry about that later. But first, I have to get out of these bindi– ’_

Suddenly she stops, her ears picking up at the sound of a door opening and the crashing of footsteps.

“Jas said Diana’s here? What happened? Where is she?”

‘ _That’s Akko’s voice…’_ Diana listens, trying to figure out if her tone was concerned or something else entirely.

“Wait. Were you followed?” A more mature voice says sternly.

“What?”

“Were you followed?”

“No!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“We looped three times Grizzly. If someone was following us they’re stuck back in Somerset.”

‘ _That was Amanda…’_ Diana recognizes.

“Where is she?”

“She’s in there. But Akko, there’s something I have to ta–” Diana hears the mature voice say before hearing a rush of footsteps followed by being blinded by a sudden burst of light upon the opening of the door.

There is a pause, a moment of silence, as Akko sees the blonde tucked in the back of the hallway closet, squinting, with arms and legs bound to a metal folding chair.

“Diana? What are you doing here?” Akko asks. Her voice demanding, yet filled with confusion and a harsh disbelief.

Despite the fear coursing through her veins, it’s only when Diana’s eyes grow accustomed to the light that she realizes the overwhelming presence of hurt on the brunette’s face.

Shaking like a cornered, trapped, animal, Diana looks up into those hurt red eyes with an almost desperation to be stronger than she felt.

These are the people who have for hundreds and hundreds of years sought greed and power and have done unspeakable things to attain it. These are the people who killed her mother!

These people just knocked her out and bound her in a closet and are probably going to threaten her friends and family and anyone else she’s ever had contact with before ending her life like her mother’s.

All that building heat of rage and fear and loss and confusion swell through her as she balls her fists and clenches her teeth in a pathetic show of defiance.

The charge of emotion, however, is stalled at the sound of Akko’s cracking voice.

“You were just… using me?”

The anger in Diana’s face melts in an instant at the sight of the glint of tears wetting the surface of the brunette’s eyes.

Her head is killing her and she is so confused.

She’s the one who’s been haunted by these people. She’s the one who’s been captured. She’s the one who has every right to be angry for what they did to her family. They took the bait. No one but her, her mother, and the Sons know about the statues…

But…

But this doesn’t feel right.

Diana’s brow pinches as she struggles to understand the puzzle before her. At that moment she hears another set of footsteps approach the door’s opening.

“Girls, I have not been completely honest with you…”

With tearful eyes, Akko looks away from Diana towards the mature voice Diana had heard speak earlier. Its then that the woman steps into the light of the doorway and looks down sadly at Diana with eerily familiar eyes.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t be relevant, but think it’s time I clear a few things up. Diana, I…”

“You knew my mother…” Diana states, eyes wide with disbelief.

It was an instant, certain recognition. Her hair was a different length and color, but those eyes…this was the same exact woman in one of the photographs her mother had kept with her belongings. They stood side by side in the photograph, professor and student.

“You… were her student. I… I’ve seen you in a picture with her.” Diana says softly, watching the woman’s expression for any sign of assurance. She sees it in the sad smile the older woman wears as she nods her head.

“She was a truly lovely woman, your mother.” She says solemnly with a layer of sadness in her words. “One of the kindest and smartest women I ever had the gift of meeting.”

Diana’s heart stops in her chest as she searches the older woman’s eyes.

Despite how long she searched, there were two things she found for certain:

There’s far more going on than she initially imagined…

And this woman is truly, deeply, saddened by the loss and memory of her mother.

Diana’s eyes fall from the older woman’s and search the ground, her mind digging through every memory, every word that she had been able to make out of her mother’s notebook.

There had been one mention of a promising student with a passion for the past.

Diana’s eyes jump back up to the older woman’s, eyebrows still knit in disbelief before realization dawns on her.

“She…” Diana pauses, weighing the pros and cons of what she was about to say. “She told you about ‘ _Hecate’s Triptych’,_ didn’t she?”

The look of conflict on the older woman’s face makes way for one of acceptance as she nods her head, a sad smile gently pulling at her lips. “Yes.”

At the admission, Diana lets out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and sits back numbly in the chair. Her mind races, but there was only one word that pushed relentlessly at her lips.

“Why?”

But before the older woman could answer, Amanda interrupts.

“Wait. Hold on. Grizzly, what the hell is going on?” The redhead furrows her brow, crossing her arms. Ursula looks over to see the rest of the girls with similar, confused expressions. “What’s this ‘ _Hecate_ ’ thing?”

The blue haired woman purses her lips and looks to the girls with a weight of guilt. “I will explain what I can… but first…” Ursula says before heading into the closet, kneeling beside the blonde and undoing the ties around her hands and feet. “I apologize for the extreme measure, Diana. I imagine you thought we were the Sons of Clytius… I couldn’t afford to take any chances in case you tried to hurt my girls before I could get the opportunity to explain.”

As her hands are freed, Diana brings her arms up and rests them in her lap, rubbing at her wrists. Looking past the apologetic woman, she sees the group of girls, six in total, looking into the closet with varying degrees of confusion on their faces. Diana’s eyes return to her mother’s student, caught between the questioning eyes of her team and one of the only other people who understands the danger of the mystery surrounding the answer to Amanda’s previous question.

Ursula rises to her feet and first looks towards Diana and then back to her girls. “I think it would be best if we moved outside.” She says before moving out of the closet and towards the living room, ushering the girls along towards the couches and armchairs.

The group of thieves move their way over to the couch as Diana is led over towards a single chair at the side of the room. Diana looks over towards the girls sitting on and standing behind the couch and catches several of them glancing over at her with confusion before turning to face their mentor. She sees Akko turn towards her a second time, this time with the same crestfallen look Diana had seen in the closet, before letting red eyes drop to the floor in an attempt to make it seems as though she wasn’t looking.

The older woman walks towards the front of the room and leans back against a desk with a large television screen resting on top of it. She clears her throat, drawing the room’s attention.

“Okay…” The woman says to herself more than anyone else, before first looking apologetically towards her girls and then turning towards Diana. “As you will find if you were to go back through school records and the occasion of that picture of myself and your mother, my true name is Chariot DuNord.”

Diana could hear the confusion in the sound of the breath being released by the girls on the couch. She glances over as… Chariot… does the same, and finds that the stunned and heartbroken expression on Akko’s face looking at her mentor was infinitely worse than it had been looking at her. The rest of the girls had their own expressions… the pink haired girl who knocked her out wore a troubled brow as the short girl beside her looked more surprised than troubled at the revelation. Amanda stares at the woman, jaw slackened with a look of disbelief on her face. Beside Akko, the girl with purple-ish hair would look almost unfazed if not for the slight quirk of her brow and pucker of her lip. Lastly, the short redheaded girl standing behind the couch beside Amanda looked perhaps more curious as to why Chariot had kept her name from them.

As it so evidently seems, the girls had no idea their mentor had been deceiving them. Diana couldn’t help but feel empathy for them. It’s abundantly clear that this team of girls are nothing like what she had initially suspected.

“I’m sorry girls.” Chariot says, genuine sorrow in her voice. “But I had to for our protection… all of ours.” The older woman then takes a breath and continues. “There are people… who will go to very violent lengths to find the artifact we were after tonight. The same is true for the _Silver Hound._ ” She says as looks towards Diana. “They are parts of a three-piece set of artifacts that when combined are… incredibly valuable…”

Diana watches her, curious as to how much she truly knows.

“For hundreds of years these people who go by the name of the Sons of Clytius have been after the artifacts… and Diana’s mother…,” Chariots eyes meet Diana’s, “was given the role from her predecessor to be a Protector to prevent the Sons from attaining them.”

“So, what’s so special about these statues?” Amanda asks, her expression marred in frustration. “What happens if one person gets them all? One more billionaire building another mansion? Or does it make some… ancient key to a doomsday device?” She says sarcastically waving her hand. “And what does that have anything to do with you not telling us your name?”

Diana hears the anger in Amanda’s voice and looks towards Chariot, and is surprised to find her expression to be composed and confident.

“I’m afraid it’s safer that you all know as little as possible about the artifacts.” Chariot says sternly, countering the apologetic tone she had been using previously. “In fact, everything said here today should not be repeated outside of here, do you understand? Right now, the best safety is that so few people are looking for the artifact. The second these pieces become a topic is when we will start seeing people die. I am entirely serious when I say it is safer for you not to know about this.” The gravity in her eyes immediately causes Amanda and the rest of the team who had been looking at her with their own questions to back down. “I did not tell you my true name because I didn’t want to take any chances.” Chariot continues as she looks to each of her girls. “It wasn’t that I was trying to mislead or hide it from you, but it’s easy to slip or to make a mistake… if any of you were to say my name out loud in public and it was overheard, it wouldn’t just put me in potential danger… but anyone associated with me as well.”

“But what would these Sons want with you? How do they even know you know anything?” Lotte asks quietly, her head cocked to the side.

At this, Chariot takes a breath and nods her head at the redhead before returning her eyes to Diana. “That is because there is another person who knows about the artifacts as well.”

Diana’s eyes widen.

“My old… suitemate… in University. Croix Meridies.”

“What?”

“From CrossTech?”

“Hold on! The tech lady?”

“You were friends with her???”

“Girls please, quiet.” Chariot begs looking around at her team. Constanze’s eyes were the size of saucers, perhaps a little starstruck.

Diana furrows her brow in thought. She had recalled reading that the owner and head inventor of CrossTech had attended the University of Oxford but she couldn’t quite remember a date. Could she really have been there when her mother had taught?

“So _that’s_ why you changed your name. If she knew you knew about it she’d come out and look for you.” Lotte says with a tone of realization. “At least with a different name she wouldn’t know who to look for.”

Chariot looks over to her and nods. “Not only that, but as you know, her technology and surveillance is everywhere… and while I am not certain, there’s no telling whether there is some AI listening throughout the mass network of her products. If she hears my name, she’ll come after anyone who knows it to find me. She knows I’m involved and I’m not sure what lengths she’ll go to to collect the artifacts.”

“How did she find out about the Triptych?” Diana asks, her voice hesitant. Had her mother truly had been so careless with the secret that cost her her life? Her mother was the smartest woman she ever knew. Was trust really the reason she was taken away?

“I blame myself for that.” Chariot states. “At the time, I wasn’t certain of what it all was. While I was in school, I had studied extensively in cryptology alongside anthropology and I suppose after having me in class, your mother had taken a shine to me and asked me to take a look at some passages from a tome she had been researching. I assume you’ve seen the glyphs in your mother’s notebook?”

Diana’s eyebrows shoot upwards as she nods her head, almost excitedly, as the moon phase shaped glyphs flood through her mind, bringing up the countless wasted hours she had pored over them.

‘ _I’ve struggled with deciphering those glyphs for ages. Is she telling me she knows what they say?’_

“Yes.” Diana says looking at the older woman with interest. “I have been working on decoding some of the later passages that have been written with simpler ciphers, but I haven’t been able to figure out that first section.”

A soft smile touches Chariots lips. “Yes, your mother was having trouble as well. She and I had worked on cracking it but it was proving to be a serious challenge.” The older woman’s smile falters. “I had asked if I could draw up a copy of a few lines so I could work on it in my free time. I had been looking over them one night and Croix had seen... She had been in the same cryptology class as I was as an elective course… and I wasn’t having any luck on it so I asked her to take a look at it.” She takes a breath and shrugs her shoulders. “And she figured it out.”

Diana’s eyes widen.

“It was only a small portion so there wasn’t a lot of information, but it was enough to point towards something larger.” Chariot continues. “Croix hadn’t taken it seriously at first, thinking it was just some type of folk story of the times, but after your mother’s death… she began to believe that there was some truth to it.” With her next breath, Chariot’s eyes turn sad. “She and I… had a disagreement then… and then she left to become who you see today.”

Her eyes meet Diana’s, the younger woman fully engrossed in her words. “Before your mother went to Bulgaria she had told me to keep what I learned a secret… for my own protection. She said that the responsibility of the secret is passed down and that there was a lot she didn’t say in order to save me from the burden of it… But… I’m responsible for whatever happens with Croix… if finding the Triptych is her goal, I have to stop her.”

Diana slowly nods her head in understanding. “So… you’ve been trying to research it… to keep her from collecting the pieces.” Diana’s brow furrows. “If you were after the _Idol_ … and want to keep the pieces separated, does that mean that you don’t have the _Kuche_ _Oniks_?”

Chariot shakes her head with a troubled look on her face. “No. But based on my findings, there is a very high chance that Croix was behind its disappearance. She had been in the area at the time of the theft for a tech conference but according to paper trail there was far more security hired than necessary. I think she paid a team to get it for her.”

Diana hums. “And that’s why you were at the opening of the Meriliad and then Luna Nova when you didn’t get the _Hound_. You were trying to make sure she didn’t get another.”

“Yes.” Chariot says before her brows pinch. “No one knows where you’ve hidden the _Silver Hound_ , correct?”

Diana shakes her head as the place its location manifests in her mind. “No one.”

“Good. It’s best you keep it that way.” Chariot nods, seemingly content with the answer. “When I realized it was you at the Meriliad, I figured you had learned about what happened and were seeking to protect the Triptych as your mother had. You had been too young at the time for her to pass down the responsibility, so I could only imagine she left something behind for you when you were ready.”

Diana feels a slight pit of sadness settle in her chest.

Chariot then turns to face the rest of her team. The group of girls staring back at her with a range of confused, betrayed, and curious expressions. “I’m sure you girls have questions…”

“You never told us any of this…” Akko says quietly as she looks up to her mentor, hurt in her eyes. The meek tone causes Diana to stray from thoughts of her mother and instead reintroduce the fog of guilt to her shoulders.

“I never told you girls because it wasn’t relevant…” Chariot says softly, looking apologetically towards the brunette. “I never intended on misleading you, this was never something that should have come up… but seeing as it has, I have to stress to you that none of this conversation can leave this room.” She looks around at the rest of the group. “I know you might not understand, and I’m being vague for a reason, but if anyone thinks you know anything about these artifacts or of who I am, we will all be in danger.”

“This is bullshit.” Amanda growls. The redhead’s voice wavers in anger, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “You don’t think we know this? We’re thieves for fucks sake. You don’t think we could have kept a secret? Do you really think that badly of us?” She glares at her mentor. “Look, I get it if you have this _deep dark super-secret_ backstory that you want to keep to yourself, but shit Urs-” Amanda awkwardly halts herself mid-name before grunting in frustration. “We trust you with our fucking lives for _every_ job and you can’t even trust us with your name?” Amanda pushes herself away from the back of the couch. “So, not only was I being used to go after this old rock that is _apparently_ to kill for, _information I’M not trusted enough to know,_ BUT, _all along,_ it was a trap set up by my girlfriends’ roomie!” Her glaring eyes shoot over towards Diana who finds herself taken aback by the anger in her green eyes. “I’m going for a walk.” And with that, Amanda turns on her heel, stepping around Lotte and heading out of the room.

The girls quietly watch as Amanda gathers her belongings and stomps towards the door. Jasminka and Constanze debate following her before the redhead stops – “Your secret’s safe with me, _boss_!” Amanda yells back snidely before opening and slamming the door behind her.

The older woman frustratedly raises her hand to her forehead, covering her eyes and sucking on her teeth before taking a deep breath.

Diana sits quietly looking between the distraught woman and the group of girls awkwardly unsure of what to do. She desperately hopes that she would just melt into the chair beneath her.

“She’ll be okay.” Jasminka says as she stands from her seat on the couch with a slight forced smile. “She just needs a little time to cool down… but I’m going to make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.”

Chariot looks up from her hand, clearly distressed, as she wordlessly nods in response to the pink haired girl.

Constanze follows Jasminka up to her feet and then turns towards Chariot with sympathetic eyes and a tight smile, signing with a flattened hand up to her chin and then back down with a thumbs up towards the older woman.

“Yes,” Jasminka nods, a tired smile on her face. “Thank you for telling us. Don’t worry, we won’t say anything.” The pink haired girl then turns towards Diana with an apologetic tilt to her eyebrows. “And… sorry about earlier. It wasn’t anything personal.”

Diana smiles awkwardly in response. Her head is still pounding but she understands the other girl’s action.

“See you guys later.” Jasminka says as Constanze waves her hand, saying goodbye to their friends before grabbing their bags and heading towards the door to catch up with Amanda.

“I think we should head out too…” Sucy stands up from the couch looking between her friends.

Lotte looks back at her surprised. Why leave now when they’re learning so much!

“It’s late. I’m tired.” Sucy catches her eyes and quickly flits her visible eye towards Akko, giving Lotte the hint.

What she didn’t (and would never) say, however, is that she wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to be able to take the heartbroken look on Akko’s face. Sure, she wasn’t the kindest person to the brunette, but she’s the closest thing to family that she’s got.

“You two going to be okay here?” Sucy shifts her gaze between the older woman and the blonde sitting uncomfortably in her chair.

It’s at this moment that Diana realizes just how human everyone in this room really was. The care, the hurt, the confusion… There was a point throughout the conversation where she was wondering if this woman was for real or if she was just telling her what she wanted to hear, but after seeing the reactions of the other girls in the room… the devastated look on Akko’s face... the anger in Amanda’s… she’s positive everything that came out tonight was far from an act.

She has to admit… She was wrong about this group. And because of her mistake and her actions, she caused a rift in this unsuspecting family. Not only that… but also the girl she found herself developing a soft spot for.

True, she set this test up for her and her people and couldn’t fully trust her, but there was a large part of her that enjoyed the brunette’s company. Even the whole time they had been talking after their visit with the _Core of the Universe,_ she had genuinely hoped that she was uninvolved… that perhaps they could enjoy each other’s company without the looming shadow of distrust and guilt.

She hurt that girl too… and as the brunette turns sad red eyes towards the purple haired girl, followed by a quick glance towards her and Chariot before shifting to the ground, Diana feels her heart ache and the overflowing urge to apologize.

‘ _But what could I even say? It was all a misunderstanding but… she’s got to see why after hearing what her leader said…’_

“Yes. You’re right, it is getting late.” Chariot says, clearing her throat and trying to mask the troubled expression on her face as her eyes settle on the brunette. “Please get home safely.” She then pushes herself away from the desk at the front of the room and glances over at Diana. “I don’t want to keep you either.”

Diana hesitantly rises from her seat and looks between the older woman and the three girls at the couch trying their hardest not to make eye contact with her. The only one in that instant who does is the purple haired girl whose one visible eye speaks volumes of unknown dialect. That girl has thoughts about her, but Diana can’t even begin to decipher what.

All she can guess is that they’re probably not positive. 

“Yeah, alright.” Sucy responds neutrally as she turns away from the blonde and begins gathering their things, handing and tossing Lotte and Akko’s belongings to her friends respectively. 

“Um… well…I’m glad you told us… Grizzly.” Lotte says, adjusting her backpack over her shoulder before placing a comforting hand on Akko’s upper back. The girl looked like she was still trying to piece together everything that had happened. Her brows were scrunched with confusion and hurt as her lips rest parted as though her heart had been preparing her to speak but her mind lost the words.

It’s then that Akko sniffles and forces a tight smile across her lips. She nods along with Lotte before pulling her eyes from the ground and willing herself to look up. Her gaze first lands onto her mentor and then again flits towards Diana, a different, yet similarly strong vision of hurt washes across her face causing the inside of the blonde’s chest to feel as though it were constricting.

“I know you said that the less we know the better,” Lotte continues, her own brow scrunched with the questioning of a theory, “but if there’s anything you think you might want some help with… I hope you know that no one here would try to use the information to our benefit…”

Chariot looks at the soft-spoken redhead with a moment of shock before a sad smile comes across her face. “Of course, I know that… I’m sorry if that’s what I made you think.” She apologizes, her heart aching in her chest. “I promise you, what I did was only to keep us safe… I never feared or questioned any of your characters.”

Lotte’s face softens with a slight relief before nodding her head and guiding Akko towards the door.

Akko’s eyes had since left Diana’s but the vision of the brunette searching her for answers stuck in the blonde’s mind as Chariot led her to follow the others towards the door.

“There was… actually… one more thing I wanted to speak with Diana about.” Chariot says pausing in the hallway before facing the blonde, looking for permission.

Diana nods curiously.

“Alright then… have a goodnight, Grizzly… Diana.” Lotte’s eyes turn briefly towards the blonde before following her friends out of the front door.

The last thing Diana sees before the door closes is the dejected look on the brunette’s face looking back at her.

The pit of guilt fills her insides all at once, its spreading roots constraining her chest tighter than the bindings that had earlier been around her wrists.

Her attention is drawn back to the older woman as Chariot lets out a heavy sigh and lowers herself to the ground, sitting with her back against the wall. “I truly hoped I wouldn’t have had to expose them to any of this.” She says tiredly. “It had been risky having them go after the pieces… but I couldn’t do it myself… and I only needed one to make sure Croix or the Sons could never get all three.”

Diana watches the woman, seemingly talking more to herself than to her.

“I know the girls will come around…” The older woman nods to herself. “I just hope knowing this doesn’t put them in even more danger. What they do is hard enough… avoiding the people who don’t know they’re there. But if someone were hunting them…”

Chariot looks up and frowns, seemingly debating her next words.

“I didn’t want to reach out after seeing you at the Meriliad because I didn’t want Croix to have any reason to look into you. I felt keeping you out of my involvement would have been the wisest choice, and as long as you have the _Silver Hound_ hidden away, Croix wouldn’t be able to get it.” Chariot pauses, looking up at the blonde and biting the inside of her cheek. “However,” she starts after a breath, looking into the blue eyes that remind her so much of the woman who had asked something similar of her 15 years prior… “Under the circumstance that you are now aware of who I am and what I know… I feel I should propose an offer…” 

* * *

The drive home was tense.

Once Akko, Sucy, and Lotte got back to the car and started their trek home there was much to discuss. However, despite Lotte trying to sooth the sting of their mentor’s confession, reasoning that she was only trying to protect them, and Sucy’s rationalizing that they too, have their own secrets that they are entitled to, Akko remained quiet…thinking… sorting what exactly hurt the most and why.

Once they returned to the apartment, Akko said a brief goodnight to Lotte and Sucy and made her way to her room, shutting the door behind her. Only once she heard the click of the bolt locking the door, she let herself unravel. She leans back against the wood and slides down to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest as she wipes her forearm across watery eyes. She lets a shaking breath go between her knees before running a hand up her forehead and gripping onto her hair.

A quiet sob escapes her throat as she thinks back to Amanda’s words.

_“Do you really think that badly of us?”_

_“You can’t even trust us with your name?”_

_‘Why didn’t she think she could trust us with that? We’re safe. If it’s so sensitive, that’s all she would have had to say! We’d never say anything! We’re supposed to be a family! We’re not really that bad at being thieves, are we? She doesn’t think we can be careful and keep a secret?’_

It’s then that her mind drifts to Diana and another shudder tears through her.

_‘Maybe she’s right not to trust us… or at least me… I led Diana straight here. The whole time… she was just manipulating me.’_

Akko lifts her head from her knees as tears run down her cheeks. With a determined focus she calms her breath and jumps up, heading straight into her closet. She begins pushing through the hung shirts and jackets, looking through pockets and folds until at last she comes across the black moto jacket that she had worn the day she met Diana at the café. She runs her hand over the leather and at last pulls out a small, taped, plastic tracker meant to be attached to a dog collar, from beneath the jacket’s folded neck.

Akko stares at the small piece of plastic and technology and shakingly clenches her fist around it before throwing it onto the floor and crushing it with the heel of her shoe.

With a new set of tears welling in her eyes Akko brings herself to her bed and grasps tightly at her pillow, hugging it to her chest as she pushes her face into the fabric. 

She hadn’t suspected Diana in the slightest. She was sad that perhaps Ursul – _Chariot’s_ … lack of confidence in them is now proven to be founded. And, she’s _angry_ that Diana had made her have feelings… made her _really like_ her over the last few weeks and months… Why would she go so far if everything was going to be a lie?

Her mind drifts back to seeing Diana’s eyes as she looked up at her in the closet, strapped to a chair.

‘ _She was afraid the whole time. She was afraid of ME the whole time. None of it was real, she was just… just… conning me…’_

Akko pulls her face out of her dampened pillow with the realization that the two of them were in the same line of business. The tears continue their way down her cheeks, but slowly she starts catching up with her breath.

_‘I can’t believe I thought I could try to find something nice and normal by getting close to another thief. Stupid.’_

Akko sniffs and holds the pillow close to her chest. Despite realizing her mistake of trusting the other girl knowing full well what she was capable of, her heart still aches deep in her chest.

Eyes still laden with tears, she looks towards her window trying to find purchase on the night’s sky, trying to think back, being so sure that what happened in Diana’s room that one night with the _Core_ was genuine and real… only to find a thick layer of cloud covering separating her from the affirmation of the endless stars above.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand there's part 1! 
> 
> Next up is dealing with the consequences.
> 
> Thank ya'll for reading and I hope you enjoyed Chariot's reveal!


	12. What We Do for Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls come to terms with what Char- Ursula's confession may mean for them, and while Akko tries to put her and Diana's 'relationship' in the past, an old friend reaches out with a warning.

It had been three days since Diana’s intrusion and their mentor’s confession and the team had not been called upon for a meeting at the Tutoring House since.

The girls understood that this was probably just… Chariot’s… way of giving them space to think, which, most of them admit, they most definitely needed to do. As freshly as it had hurt on the night of their failed trap of a mission at Luna Nova, as the night passed and turned to the days following, the girls had taken that time to process and think about everything that had happened and they had come to a conclusion:

They understand why Chariot did what she did.

In the broader sense, they all realize that her decision on not telling them her name or her private studies in order to keep them all safe was made fully with good intention… she wanted to keep them out of danger, and so, tried to keep their exposure to it minimal.

Lotte took to understanding it rather quickly. She accepted that it was probably the smartest thing that Chariot could have done and had to admit that it was pretty impressive that she was able to keep it all so confidential for so long. And just like she had when Akko had told her that she had been using an alias in school, the redhead found herself less concerned with the deception and far more on the reason. She wasn’t necessarily interested in the attainment of the power said to be associated with these artifacts, but she did find herself starting her own research on what little she knew about the pieces to learn more about how high the stakes could be.

Sucy, not too far from the usual, seemed quiet about the whole ordeal. Her teammates knew that she was notably one to keep others at an arm’s length and knew that her trust was very hard earned, but despite so, whenever she, Akko, and Lotte would talk about the events of that night, she would agree with Lotte and defend the older woman’s decision.

Constanze and Jasminka each seemed to take the news surprisingly well. Constanze had ended up taking her time to do some research to step up some of the Tutoring House’s defenses. It had been one thing to prevent a majority of signals from going out of the house, but next time someone like Diana tries to send a bug in… she wants to be automatically informed.

Jasminka had always been a little hard to read, however, in her comforting of Amanda and talking her down on the night of the confession, the pink haired girl didn’t seem to have lost a step. She was genuinely thankful that Chariot had told them, despite the circumstance somewhat forcing her into the position of explaining. Jasminka understood that any slip up could bring danger on them, and while she was confident with her fists, she’d much rather be aware of a potential enemy than to be blindsided.

Amanda and Akko had taken it all a little harder. The both of them felt the lack of Chariot’s confidence in them to be a bruise to their pride, however, while Amanda reacted by lashing out, on the inside she felt much the same as Akko… heartbroken.

As they were talked down by their friends… the drastic pain eased to a dull hurt, it was really once Amanda and Akko had gotten together to talk that they came to remember that they too have secrets that they hadn’t told the others.

It had seemed rational at the time since it was something they wanted to forget, but it made the two of them realize that it was pretty hypocritical to feel betrayed by Chariot’s deception and secrets when they themselves wouldn’t speak about the things they were not so proud of to have done when they had been running with Louis’s ‘Pack’.

Louis was scum. And what he led them through in their most impressionable stages continues to make the two of them look back on their time alongside him with guilt.

They don’t want their friends to see them as the people they had behaved as under him… so… for their own selfish reasons they have kept that part of their past from the rest of their friends.

With putting that into perspective… recognizing that Chariot had been deceiving them in order to protect not just herself, but them also…

Akko may even understand it more than Amanda does… being that she herself is keeping the new information about Lewis from her redheaded friend for fear of what she might get herself into. It’s to protect her…

They can understand why Chariot did what she did.

They understand. But it doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt. 

Now, Diana… that’s a different story…

Akko wasn’t sure what to believe. She was hurt, she was confused… betrayed and downright conned. She feels shame for falling for Diana’s façade and even more so for letting it hurt her so badly.

The infiltration had shown the blonde’s true colors and even as Akko had deleted her contact information from her phone (but who was she kidding? The number remained etched into her mind), the texts that had once given her hope in their friendship wind teasingly through her memory.

Akko was trying to forget her. After all, Diana wasn’t who she convinced her she was, right? That person never existed. It was just a character who had a job, and now that that job was done and she got the information she needed, she’d go off and use someone else to get what she wants next…

So much for honor amongst thieves…

Akko frustratedly continued to tell herself that the girl next to her on the bed under the stars wasn’t real. Some of what she said may have been true, about the death of her mother… but that whole time Diana was opening up to her, she was luring Akko into a lie.

And by the way Diana had looked at her when she was stuck in that chair, it all must have been just that.

Along with processing everything that had happened with her mentor, Akko had spent the last few days trying to get herself over the fictional relationship she had convinced herself was building between her and Diana, but for now, as she sucks a vanilla shake out of a possibly far too small straw in the comfort of her friends, Akko allows her mind to travel elsewhere between the laughter of her friends and the shocking brain freeze drilling into her temples.

“Ah! Nonono noooo!” Akko groans through grit teeth as she throws the heel of her palms onto her forehead. Jasminka watches on with a victorious smile as she sucks down the remainder of her shake, winning the milkshake contest the brunette had challenged her to.

“Aaaaand Jazzy is the winner! Again.” Amanda says, patting her grinning suitemate on the back.

“How??” The brunette yowls as Constanze puts a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Jasminka just smiles at her. “I don’t get brain freezes.”

Akko groans enviously in response.

Hearing the commotion, Avery walks over with her hands on her hips and a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. “Did you even enjoy them at all?”

“Oh absolutely! The consistency is perfect and that little bit of cinnamon is just delicious!” Jasminka beams at her, causing the purple haired woman to lose the frown and smile just a crack with pride. “May I order the caramel one next please?”

Her smile growing from the other girl’s compliment, Avery pulls out her notepad and scribbles down the order. “Coming right up. You too?” She asks as she looks over towards Akko.

“No, no… I’m good.” Akko says as she pushes her tongue to the top of her mouth, still holding her head in pain.

“Alright.” Avery turns her eyes to the rest of the table. “Can I get anyone else anything?”

Constanze shakes her head ‘no’ as Lotte and Sucy decline as well.

“I’ll take another coffee, Aves. Same as before. Thanks.” Amanda says with a half-raised hand.

“Alright, you got it. I’ll be right out with those.” Avery says, jotting down the other drink order before turning to head back to the counter.

Finally freed from her milkshake induced pain, Akko looks over to Amanda with concern. “That’s like… your third one. Are you doing okay?”

Amanda glances over towards her nonchalantly. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a long night with the ladies.” Her eyes turn sly with the raise of an eyebrow. “They wore me out.”

“Oh, come on…” Sucy rolls her eyes as Akko and Lotte begin to blush. 

Amanda continues to look cheekily at them before she lets her expression tiredly fall. “Nah. They had me over and we did a scary movie marathon and I had a rough time getting the image of that lawnmower scene from _The Happening_ out of my head when I was trying to sleep.” 

The table “ahh’s” in understanding. 

“So, things are still going well with Hannah and Barbara? Considering…” Lotte asks, her voice trailing off.

Everyone knows what… rather… who… she’s referring to.

A layer of tension settles over Amanda’s face. “Yeah, things are still great with them. It’s not their fault their roommate’s a spy or whatever she is. I do kind of feel bad that they’ve got two people keeping things from them… but I’m not really sure what to do about that.” Her expression slowly dons a warm, soft, smile. “But they’re good. They can hold their own.”

“Well, that’s good.” Lotte smiles softly in return before looking around the table. A majority of them nodding distractedly. While Lotte knows that Akko had been having a little bit of trouble with the whole of where Diana fit into everything, the rest of the group were also a little conflicted on what to think about Diana and Chariot’s story.

Amanda sighs. “Mmm… I was also thinking that I should apologize to Grizzly… The other night I might have overreacted a bit…”

Everyone but Sucy looks over to the redhead, surprised with her maturity.

“You think?” Sucy raises a brow, her tone earning a side-eyed glance from Amanda.

“A lot happened that night, can you really blame me?” Amanda says exasperatedly before her voice drops and her eyes lock-on to the table. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure right now she’s just giving us some cool down processing time… but next time we meet up I think I owe it to her.”

Akko’s been around Amanda long enough to know how much the redhead hates admitting that she’s in the wrong, but after their conversation about keeping their secrets during their time with Louis… it’s become abundantly clear that for her, the only thing worse than saying she was wrong is being a hypocrite. 

Avery returns walking up to the table with the caramel milk shake and the sweet and light coffee Amanda had taken a liking to. As she sets the drinks down, Jasminka thanks the purple haired hostess sweetly as Amanda takes a gulp and lets out a large dramatic breath.

“You’re doin God’s work, Aves.” Amanda winks as she holds the coffee warmly in her hands.

Avery rolls her eyes and takes the empty cups from their table. “If you want anything else, I’ll be up at the counter. It’s starting to get busy.”

“You don’t want to wait on us anymore?” Amanda pouts jokingly.

“Nope.” Avery teases, sticking out her tongue at them before turning and walking away towards the counter where the start of a line had indeed been forming.

As she takes one last gulp of her milkshake, at last reaching the bottom, Akko watches in amazement as Jasminka begins happily sipping at her second shake.

“Speaking of meeting back up again,” Lotte looks around discreetly to make sure there’s no one too close to be eavesdropping. “Did you hear about the Wagandia Gala that’s going to be hosted in London next month?” She leans in quietly over the table. “It was just announced that Arcturus Towers will be hosting and you’re never going to guess what’s going to be there…” Lotte pauses for effect looking around at the various expressions of interest surrounding the table. “ _‘The Seven Words’_.”

Amanda’s eyebrows raise. “Oh _really?_ ”

“Why does that sound familiar?” Akko squints her eyes as she scratches at her chin.

“That’s the forged painting from the job we didn’t finish four years ago. At the uh… whatever that Manor was...” Sucy says not fully intent on digging through her memory.

“Shinnirod Manor.” Lotte cuts in.

“Yeah.”

“Ohh!” Akko’s eyes widen before once again pinching her brows together. “Why didn’t we get that one?”

“It was the wrong painting.” Jasminka says before placing her lips back to her straw.

“Oh…” Akko trails off as she too returns her lips to her milkshake only to remember that she had already finished before her eyes widen in realization. “Wait! Was that Woodward’s?! How could I forget that?! Oh my God, we need to get it!”

“Yeah! It was just announced today in a press release. I’d be interested in giving it another go! I wonder if Grizzly would bring it up!” Lotte chirps excitedly before her eyes take on a dreamy glimmer. “Going to that Gala would be an amazing experience!”

“Now… I don’t want to be a downer…” Sucy says slowly as she leans back in her chair, crossing her arms of her chest before looking around again to make sure there was no one that could be listening in.

Amanda gives her a disbelieving smile.

“But, do you really think Grizzly’s going to keep planning this stuff with us?”

The rest of the group look at Sucy in confusion before she continues. “She practically said that the only reason she got involved with this kind of work was her trying to clean up her mistake with her ex-roommate… What makes you so sure that all those other jobs we did weren’t just so we’d stick around and help her when she needed it? When the artifacts or whatever showed up?”

The girls’ hearts drop. They really don’t like what Sucy’s saying, but… and they loathe to admit it… it could be a possibility. What if all this time Chariot had just been trying to gain their trust and loyalty so they didn’t ask questions? But now that they know…

Amanda lets out a defiant snort. “I dunno man. You hear the plans she comes up with… she’s into this. I can’t imagine that she’d start going straight and narrow now that she told us a little of her background, ya know?”

“I suppose she would still need us if there’s two other pieces out there…” Sucy frowns.

“Do… do you really think that? That she’s just using us?” Akko asks earnestly, an air of sadness coating her words.

Sucy turns her head to look at her friend. At first, she tries to make it look like she’s unaffected by the words that she’s been saying, but as she looks at her friend, her shoulders fall and her brow relaxes as her eyes go soft. “I don’t know... I want to think that we mean a little more to her than an illegal delivery service…” she shrugs. “We’ve kind of been through a lot together.”

Akko puckers her lips in thought as her eyes fall and begin to study the table.

“There’s no way we’re just assets to her.” Lotte cuts in, a confident hopefulness in her voice. “Someone who didn’t care about us wouldn’t have traded shirts with Akko after that crow pooped on her back.”

Amanda bursts out laughing. “Holy shit, I forgot about that!”

“Yeah, thanks Lotte...” Akko looks up from the table with a grumble as a blush warms her cheeks.

“We weren’t even a team yet! Don’t you remember?” Lotte continues with a controlled smile, looking at Akko. “That was back when we had her class. She was done teaching for the day and she just… traded shirts with you.”

“She washed it too.” Akko continues to blush as she reminisces.

It’s true. She hadn’t seen the huge white crow getting ready to take off overhead. She had only felt its departure splash over her shoulder and roll down the back of her rather thin t-shirt. She didn’t have another shirt on hand and she had two back to back classes left so she had no choice but to deal with it. She remembers putting a piece of loose-leaf paper on the inside of her shirt so she wouldn’t feel where the dropping had soaked through, but she knew it was there, and the paper was of little help.

Her first class at the time had been Professor Callistis’ Anthropology course, and at the end of the lecture she had called Akko to stay after class for a moment to “discuss her last paper submission”. Once they were alone, she asked if Akko was done with class for the day. The moment she had said no, the older woman had insisted that she was done teaching for the afternoon and offered to trade shirts. Akko had panicked when her professor began unbuttoning her shirt, but was eased by the assurance that there was a tank top underneath. Akko had worn her professor’s shirt for the rest of the day and when she returned it next class, Akko’s t-shirt was returned clean and fresh.

“And even when we weren’t in her class, she offered to help explain anything we were having trouble with course-wise.” Amanda says before blowing on her coffee and taking a sip.

“And all of her holiday baking.” Jasminka smiles. “Those sweets were never leftovers, she made those fresh for us.”

“And that time she picked Conz up at 2am when her car broke down on A44.” Amanda says gesturing to the smaller girl nodding affirmatively.

“There’s no way we’re just tools for her.” Lotte looks over at Sucy. “Sure, she may have been a little less than truthful to us, but she wouldn’t have any reason to engage with us and help us outside of a job if she didn’t care about us.”

Despite seeing the one gaping hole in Lotte’s reasoning being that there was a chance that the older woman needed to try to build their trust so that they wouldn’t ask questions about certain motives behind jobs, Sucy bites at her lip with a sigh. “I guess you could be right…”

Lotte smiles before looking over towards Akko. “There’s nothing to worry about. No matter what, we’re still a family.”

* * *

The girls stay a while longer before deciding that Avery’s café was getting a little too busy to continue their conversation and that it was about time to surrender their table space. After polishing off their drinks and paying their tab, the group gets up and leaves the comfort of the warm, coffee scented shop and heads out into the cool afternoon. 

They walk around town a few blocks, sharing anecdotes about their past with Ursula and talking animatedly about their previous attempt at ‘ _The Seven Words’._ It was so close to being a job well done, but it just wasn’t the right painting.

It had been starting to get cloudy when they had just left the café, but as they walk, the overcast grows darker. Just as the first droplets of rain begin to splash against the sidewalk, they decide to say their goodbyes and make their way to their cars and head back to their homes. 

Tired after the drive, Akko, Lotte, and Sucy all feel the mounting relief as they climb the steps taking them closer to their apartment. However, just as the three make their way to the last flight of stairs, it’s then that they realize that they had forgotten to pick up the mail kept at the front desk of their complex.

After a quick tapping of noses designating who would _not_ be the ones heading back downstairs, with a grumbling of curses about today _of all days_ being when the elevator would have _had_ to bebroken, Akko trudges her way back down the previously climbed stairs to pick up what she is positive to be nothing more than junk mail. 

Normally she would have formulated some game for herself as she went down the stairs, be it a combination of skipping steps or sliding on the railing, however today she found herself pulled aside by thought. Their conversation at the café was both comforting and worrying. Yes, it’s very true that Grizzly had seemed to have proven herself to be more than just an employer, but... what if it was really all just a part of a long con to help her get these special artifacts? 

She really didn’t want to think that all this time she was being used; first by Diana… then by the woman she considered the closest thing she had to a mother...

It really was hard to take in. 

Akko reaches the lobby floor with a sigh and a shake of her head. 

‘ _C’mon I have to stop thinking like this... I’m just overthinking and making it seem worse than it is.’_ She sets her jaw and lets out a sigh from her nose. ‘ _I have to get my mind off of this. Gotta think about something else.’_ Akko tells herself as she reaches their mailbox, pulls out her designated key and pulls out the small pile of ads that had been delivered to them.

She flicks through to check if there’s anything important or worth a read and pouts her lip at its lack. She shuts the mailbox door and re-locks it before tucking the papers under her arm and heading back to the stairwell.

Her shoulders fall in resignation as she looks up the long stretch of staircase, _yet again_ , before deciding that maybe some music would help distract her from the same thoughts that had accompanied her down.

As she takes her first step up, pulling out her phone to flip to her music app, she finds herself frozen as she frowns questioningly at the several missed calls from an unknown number brandished across her screen. 

‘ _Who-?’_

Just then another incoming call from the same unknown number silently lights up her screen. 

Akko looks at the phone, her nose scrunched as she tries to dig through her memory for any familiarity of the number. 

_‘Why wouldn’t they just leave a message?’_

As the call continues to display on her phone, Akko anxiously weighs her options before shrugging her shoulders. 

‘ _Eh.’_

She knows Constanze had proofed her phone from being traced, so without further delay she presses the icon to accept the call. 

“Y-ello?” She picks up, throwing her voice to sound higher pitched than natural.

“ _Akko?”_ A male voice on the other end asks, a tint of panic in their tone.

 _“_ Mmm depends.” Akko pinches her brow trying to place the somewhat familiar voice.

“ _Oh thank God. Are you okay?”_

It’s then that she recognizes the voice from so long ago. She lowers her own as she steps backward out of the echoing stairwell. “Andrew? Yeah. I’m fine. What’s wrong?” She asks in her normal voice, a mounting confusion weighing on her mind.

“ _You can’t be traced, can you?”_

“No. I’m clear… what’s wrong?” She asks again.

“ _Apparently Louis has been asking about you around Berkshire. Are you safe?”_

Akko’s eyebrows raise in alarm. “Yeah. I’m fine. He’s asking about _me_ specifically? Why?”

 _“I don’t know… but with how things left off it can’t be something good.”_

Akko’s eyes knit together in concern as she lowers her voice further. “How’d you hear this? Have you seen him?”

 _“Nah. He asked one of my old buddies. He obviously didn’t know so he couldn’t say anything, but you should watch your back A… I don’t know what’s going through his head.”_

“Thanks for the warning…” Akko sighs anxiously. It had been some time since the last time Andrew had last reached out to her letting her know that Louis was around. She hadn’t heard anything about either of them since Andrew’s text so she had naively let herself relax, hoping that maybe whatever his resurgence means would have nothing to do with her. Now it seems, without a doubt, she had been wrong. 

‘ _What do I do? What about Amanda?’_ Akko bites her lip, remembering that she had neglected to tell her friend about the first warning that Andrew had given her to Louis’ return.

“Hey… Did you by any chance reach out to Amanda about this whole Louis thing?” Akko asks quietly before scootching out of the way of a few people she recognizes from the third floor of the apartment complex so they can make their trek upwards.

There is silence on the other end. “ _I… no… I didn’t. I remember how she got about him and I wasn’t sure if she’d try to go after him.”_ He pauses. “ _Did you?”_

“No… I was afraid of the same thing.” Akko admits, unsure of whether she should feel better or worse with the affirmation that her fear could be valid.

_“Hmm…”_

On the other end of the line, Akko hears the faint sound of a door opening and closing.

“ _Ah. Aright. I’m glad you’re ok. I’ve got to go, but you stay safe, okay? Keep Amanda safe.”_

“Don’t worry. You stay safe too.” She says, her brows knit in concern. “Wait. You seen Frank around? You know if he’s okay?”

“ _Oh, don’t worry about Frank, he’s good.”_ She can hear the boy smiling ever so slightly on the other end of the phone. “ _He told me to tell you ‘Sup Stickyfingers’ if you picked up.”_

Akko cracks a smile as she fondly remembers the nickname the blonde boy had given her after her initiation mission. Frank was a nice guy, always good for a laugh, and one hell of a grifter. A lot of what she had learned about fitting into the crowd and coaxing out information she had learned from him.

“ _Aright, keep your eyes open. Stay good.”_

“You too.” Akko says before she sees the call end on her screen.

Akko watches as the call screen goes black before backing up against the wall of the stairwell and tilting her head back to touch the cool tile.

“ _Oh, shit…”_ She sighs out loud before bumping her head lightly against the wall. She had really hoped that this part of her past wouldn’t come back to haunt her. Of all the things she’s done and stolen (and there have been quite a few) it figures that the part she had been trying to forget and repress is what dangerously barrels full force back into her life.

‘ _Okay… okay… I just need to take some precautions…’_ Akko tries to calm her mind. This was not the type of distraction she was hoping for just a few minutes ago.

‘ _Alright. So… we all know not to answer when someone asks about us. I just have to let anybody else who knows who I am know that they should pretend not to know me… or Amanda.’_ Akko bites her lip. ‘ _Shit. I don’t know! Do I tell Amanda?? She should know so she knows to look out for him but if she knows would she instead go out of her way to try to find him? Ahhhhhh!’_ Akko’s eyes pinch shut as she bumps her head back into the wall once more.

‘ _If I tell Lotte and Sucy they’re going to ask about more… and… they deserve to know because if he finds me they might be in danger… but…’_

 _‘I don’t want them to see me differently…’_

_‘Lotte says we’re family… but… I… I don’t want to lose them…’_

Akko opens her eyes and pushes a strained breath from between her lips. ‘ _Let me think about it for a bit… maybe he’ll just go looking somewhere else. England’s a big place. In the meantime, I should make sure to tell Avery and…’_

Akko’s eyes widen as she realizes where her thoughts were taking her.

The only other people who know who she is would be Hannah, Barbara… and Diana.

‘ _How am I supposed to tell Hannah and Barbara without letting Amanda know?! And Diana?? I can’t talk to her NOW!’_

Akko raises her hands to her head, the forgotten pile of advertisements falling from their hold beneath her arm. Upon the clatter of the fliers and envelopes hitting the ground and sweeping across the floor, Akko groans moving from one issue to the next.

With a deep breath she re-collects the papers from the floor and as she shuffles them back into place, she notices that her phone was alight again with a new notification.

Now, Akko wasn’t certain how she would feel… maybe she expected to feel a little more conflicted… but instead she finds that it is an immense relief that she feels upon seeing the name ‘Grizzly’ pop up in her messages.

“ _Urgent. Everyone please meet at TH at 5pm. Drive safely.”_ The text reads.

Despite the piling thoughts and concerns whirling through her mind, she can’t help but fall back onto the comforting thought that maybe, just maybe, not everything was as different and stirred up as she had thought. There could still be a semblance of what was her normal… before the other night.

There was still some time before the three of them should head out, so, although dreading facing these stairs several more times this evening, Akko begins to head back up to her room with a little more drive than before, and a different, more hopeful set of thoughts forming in her mind:

Maybe this was something she could talk to her mentor about… She has her connections… maybe she’d know what to do about Louis and Amanda... with as few details as possible.

After all, it’s evident that if anyone knows first-hand what it’s like to be hiding from their past, it would be Ursula.

* * *

Akko really couldn’t place why exactly she felt an almost giddiness on the drive over. She had just spent days overturning the idea that her Ursula had a completely separate life that she had kept from them, but now, as Lotte takes the familiar turns to get onto the Blytonbury campus, she finds herself almost desperately trying to reconnect with the familiar comfort she had felt before.

Lotte wheels around the corner to the street adjacent to the Tutoring House and parks a slight distance from Amanda’s Jeep. Donning their backpacks like collegiate camouflage, the three walk inconspicuously down the sidewalk towards their destination. Upon turning the corner, however, the three girls see Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze standing behind a parked car, in a light drizzling of rain, cautiously looking up the street.

Constanze is the first to notice Akko, Lotte, and Sucy approaching, and so, pulls out her phone and texts her warning.

Sucy’s phone buzzes in her hand before she opens the shorter girl’s message.

“ _Silver Nissan parked out front. We don’t recognize the plate.”_

Sucy looks up and squints to find the car in question.

“What’s wrong?” Lotte asks as Sucy holds out her hand to halt the three of them.

“Do you recognize that car out front?” Sucy frowns.

“The silver?” Lotte pouts. “No… Do you think that’s why Grizzly said it was urgent?” The redhead’s blue eyes widen in alert.

“Why would she have us wait until five then?” Sucy continues to stare at the car, slightly easing Lotte’s panic.

Akko, however, swears she’s seen that car before. She thinks back hard. There’s got to be hundreds of those models driving around but she knows she saw one up close. She remembers that she had parked next to one… and that she had looked in the window’s reflection to fix her hair and give herself a pep talk before…

Akko’s red eyes shoot wide open and without making the decision to, she was moving across the puddle ridden street towards the door of the Tutoring House. 

“Dude? What are you doing?” Amanda chides as she and the others race towards the brunette to back her up as she knocks their pattern on the door.

Akko doesn’t answer, standing silently for the few seconds it takes before the sound of the locks on the inside of the door begin unlatching.

The door opens revealing Chariot looking at them with an expression mixing the elements of anxiety and relief.

All of the feelings of giddiness and comfort leave Akko’s skin as her eyes travel over the older woman’s shoulder and fly to the kitchen table, settling on the blonde surrounded by closed books and piles of papers stiffly meeting the brunette’s gaze, confirming Akko’s suspicion.

‘ _Why–?’_

Akko’s thought is interrupted by a disbelieving Amanda, blurting out the question on all of their minds.

“What the hell is this?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof. Hey ya'll. Thank you for sticking around after that wait! I was in a rough patch and Chapter 15 turned out to be a lot more than I expected but I think it's going to be a fun one to look forward to!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! Thank you for reading!


	13. All But Forgiven and Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although it had only been a few days, working with Chariot had brought Diana's progress leagues ahead towards learning more about her mother's duty. However, now, after giving the rest of her team the chance to process what had happened between them, Chariot believes it was time to alert them to the new threat that had shown its face... and to let them know that Diana will be no stranger.

When her mother’s old mentee had asked her whether she would consider working together to find and understand the mystery behind Hecate’s Triptych, Diana knew it was not a decision to be made lightly.

On one end, the information they would be discovering is considered highly classified… and while Diana will most definitely be learning things that she has the responsibility to, Chariot will be learning them beside her.

It would have been naïve of her to deem the older woman trustworthy (especially after seeing that she had managed to make an entire group of con artists believe she was someone else), however there was something in her gut telling her that the older woman had not been lying to her when she said she had no interest in the Silver Hound as long as it’s safe.

She’d have to look a little deeper into what her mother left behind to determine just how much of what Chariot had said in regards to their partnership could be accurate… however, the more she thinks back, the more she remembers that when her mother would take her into her office, there was often more than just the two of them present.

Also, she had to consider, if there’s anyone who may know more about her mother and the mystery she had entrusted Diana to, it was most definitely the woman offering her help. 

After a while of thought, Diana had accepted the offer and all of the time since had given her more to learn than she had anticipated. While she considered herself a quick study, it was very clear that the older woman was on a level of brilliance when it came to cryptology that Diana herself was years behind.

Passages Diana had been working on for weeks reveal themselves before the two of them presenting the accounts of the past; those of her mother, of her predecessor, and several of the predecessors before her. Locations, diaries, findings, and theories, with each page slowly and carefully transcribed, this already daunting mission takes on more importance with each life dedicated to its cause, and yet…

It seems as though not a single protector was aware of the true nature of the Triptych.

Some theorized curses, some thought that the three pieces formed some type of key to open a door leading to riches, some had even toyed with the possibility of magic. Countless guesses and theories all with the epilogue of a like mind: The rumored power should not be allowed to fall into the hands of man.

It was a challenge looking through the old, worn, rewritten pages. Diana considered that perhaps there was something she was missing, a definition that she is misunderstanding… While she’s certain that there are gaps in time and protectors not accounted for within the rewritten compilation, out of the few she and Chariot had translated, it seemed almost unreal that a mystery like this would pass through lifetimes and not a single person dedicated to its cause seemed to know exactly what it was they were protecting. It was a faith they seemed to follow. A vague yet intense instruction from their predecessor before them, perhaps because knowing the true power would sway their conviction… and not one wished to be challenged with the temptation of the proverbial fruit.

It was very much a faith… but a faith in man that if this theoretical power were attainable, humanity would surely abuse it and lose control. And so, they would protect. No matter the cost.

Including that of her mother’s passages. What pages she and Chariot had transcribed showed just how devoted Bernadette had been. However, it was her who seemed to have the resources to dig deeper.

It seemed as though the few protectors Diana had gotten the chance to decipher were quite similar to herself... Not necessarily prepared, not professionally versed in the world of archaeology… many just seemed to be sharp minds with compassionate drive. It seemed they served a very basic purpose: relocating known artifacts in order to remain a step ahead of the Sons of Clytius. The more Diana learns and reads of this duty and faith, the more she feels conflicted about her action of keeping the Silver Hound close for her own intimate study.

However, as evidenced by her mother, she was not the only one who wanted to do more than just take part in an everlasting round of keep away.

It was through her mother’s research, she found, that uncovered the most recent addition...

Though all protector passages were seemingly written with a unique cipher in mind, the greatest challenge lay in the glyphs from the very first protector. Those of which were rewritten in her mother’s hand from a stone tablet she had excavated only a couple years prior to her untimely death. This was the passage she had invited Chariot to look into with her, the passage that just may be the answer to the mystery.

Based on the conditions of its discovery and her mother’s analysis, the tablet appeared to be from the Hellenistic Period, fitting into the same timeline as the statues but also showing that there was over 1,600 years of unaccounted protectors and entries nowhere to be found within the notes and pages of what her mother left behind. Surely, they’d be out there buried somewhere with information Diana couldn’t fathom to imagine, but with any luck, the tablet her mother had discovered will provide the true answer she’s looking for. What did her mother die for?

However, with the _Silver Hound_ accounted for and the _Onyx Dog_ known to be stolen, it seemed of slightly more importance to find out where the last piece could be before learning the origin of this mystery. Alas, the First Protector’s notes will have to wait until discovering a lead on the last known location of the ‘ _Idol of the Moonlit Witch’._

There is a sense of euphoria that comes with finally making headway in this mystery hidden within her mother’s notes, however, while this is her focus, there is still an unknown factor among her arrangement with Chariot.

Her team.

All the while these hundreds and hundreds of years of history are slowly being discovered, Diana can’t help but think back to the night that she had been caught and tied to a chair. She still feels the pit of guilt as she remembers the look on Akko’s face… and now, she feels as though a layer of betrayal has added itself to its weight.

How would Akko… How would the _team_ take it to know that their mentor was now working with her?

She truly didn’t want to go under their noses in regards to this alliance. She genuinely feels atrocious for what she did to Akko, and despite it resulting in the most progress she’s had in years, the other girl was an innocent party in the matter and was used as little more than an unintentional stepping stone.

And it’s not just her _own_ deception, but seeing just how badly Akko and the rest of the team were affected by Chariot’s confession…

She couldn’t imagine it would go well if they found out that Chariot had kept the two of them working together a secret as well.

So, it came as a terrifying relief when the older woman had said that she wanted to clear the air with her team. She had given them some time to gather their thoughts, but now, they really must be informed of their new looming threat, and it would be best that they know from this point forward that Diana would be a familiar face.

So now, in this dreary afternoon just off of Blytonbury’s Campus, Diana sits at the dining table surrounded by books and notes with her mind far from the code on the sheet before her. Chariot had said that the rest of the girls were invited over… and it was just a matter of time before they got here.

As much as she agrees to the act of coming clean about their new collaborative partnership, Diana was terrified. What would she expect? She wants to apologize, but what would she say? That night she saw the brunette’s heart break, she knew that there was far more damage done by her jump to conclusions than she could have imagined. Granted, she had no idea what would happen… How could she have known that the connection between their thief mastermind and her mother would have been more complimentary than oppositional? No one was supposed to know about the triptych other than her mother and the Sons, what else was she supposed to think?

Despite her reasoning and the feeling of justification in what she had done given the improbability of less threatening options… her heart still weighs heavily. Even if she won’t be forgiven, she wants to try to make right with Akko. Somehow.

‘ _I am truly sorry about the other night, though, with your profession you must understand…’_

_‘No.’_

_‘I didn’t want to hurt you…’_

_‘No…’_ Diana growls to herself.

‘ _I apologize for the misunderstanding. Now that we are working together, I was hoping that we may start over?’_

 _‘NO. Hhhh. Come on Diana. Could you be a little MORE insensitive!? Bloody hell.’’_ The blonde grumbles to herself frustratedly as she continues to try to find the right words to show that she truly does feel badly about betraying Akko’s trust.

It’s then that she hears a knock at the door and her eyes fly to those of Chariot’s. The older woman looks back at her with a timid, yet comforting smile before pausing to take a breath and heading towards the door. Diana scrambles to shut her textbooks and pile the notes she had gathered about the artifacts as well as the contents of her mother’s notebook into a neat pile before shoving them away into a folder to assure any wandering eyes didn’t see more than they should.

Yes, there was a new trust, but even so, now, with getting involved with Chariot, it’s now become just as much a part of her responsibility to protect this new group from the mystery of Hecate’s Triptych. 

The clicking of the locks coming undone were daunting as the seconds it takes in reality seem to stretch on for hours. At last Chariot opens the door and before a word could be uttered her attention flies to the shocked red eyes looking over the older woman’s shoulder towards her. Diana feels as though she has been submerged in an ice bath. The brunette’s gaze boring into her, piled high with a myriad of emotion, hurt, and confusion, could not have made her feel any smaller. Her mind goes blank as she tries to read what’s going on behind the other girl’s eyes and she fights her instinct to look away from the overwhelming sight. 

“What the hell is this?” Amanda says, brows furrowed and voice tinted with disdain as her eyes move past her mentor towards the occupied table.

Calmly, Chariot steps aside to grant them access. “Please come in, girls. I will explain.” She says as she holds the door, refusing to say more until the girls are all in inside and the locks are reset in place.

The group of girls step through the threshold, most eying Diana hesitantly as they make their way into the foyer. The only exceptions are Amanda, who refuses to look back at the blonde in favor of nonverbally demanding answers from her mentor, and Akko, who appears to be trying her hardest to look away but her eyes seem to behave as though they are magnetized towards the table. However, any time Diana would meet her eyes, the brunette’s attention is instantly averted elsewhere.

Once the rattle of the final lock being reset quiets, Chariot turns to face the waiting eyes of her team.

“I know our discussion the other night was a lot to process. I fully understand your reactions and you are right to have them, so I would like to apologize for keeping the information from you. I’m sorry.” Chariot meets each set of eyes genuinely before taking a breath as a sternness hardens her brow. “However, as it still stands, my reasoning was and continues to be for safety.”

Diana watches as the team of girls look towards their mentor. Some nod in understanding while others remain stone-faced and listening. She sees Amanda look towards the floor with conflict as she chews at her cheek while Akko stands beside her, staring straight ahead in thought with a slight press to her brow.

“Now, as you now know,” Chariot continues, “Miss. Cavendish and I share a common interest, and instead of working separately with the knowledge of each of our own involvements we have agreed upon working together. I believe it to be the smartest and safest option due to the circumstances.” 

“So. She’s going to be hanging out here...” Amanda says, seemingly quick to accept the news with only a slight bite to her tone. “Are you going to tell us what all of this is about or what?”

The seriousness in her brow stands firm in her voice as well as Chariot responds. “I’m afraid I still can’t tell you. I’m sorry… I’m–”

“Just trying to keep us safe.” Amanda rolls her eyes in one last act of defiance before huffing in frustrated acceptance and crossing her arms. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Is she going to be working with us?” Sucy asks sharply. Her eye momentarily flitting distastefully over towards the blonde.

Diana’s eyes catch the brief glare given by the purple haired girl. Not particularly fond of being spoken about as though she were not there, she sits up straight.

“I will be staying out of your way.” Diana’s voice draws the attention of the group of girls. All except for Akko whose eyes appear to be locked on the wall behind her. “My reasoning for being here is strictly for collaborative research. I have no interest in stepping on your toes in your affairs.”

The purple haired girl holds her gaze emotionlessly and unblinkingly for a moment.

“Good.” She says before quickly shifting her eyes to the books on the table and then returning back to Chariot.

“Would you be against offering input?” The redheaded girl with glasses asks with a drastic change of tone, her voice sounding hopeful as she draws almost offended looks from her teammates and a stunned expression from Diana herself. “I mean, based on how you got the _Silver Hound_ , you must have a mind for this kind of thing.” Lotte smiles sheepishly.

Diana’s face pales. 

“I... uh...” she stumbles, completely unexpecting an _invitation_ to their world. 

Sucy’s stoic expression turns aghast as she looks towards Lotte as though she had lost her mind.

Lotte meets Sucy’s eyes and shrugs her shoulders with a ill-concealed excitement in her voice. “What? We might need as much help as we can get if we try to go after _‘The Seven Words’_ again!” Lotte then turns to Chariot. “Did you hear that the Wagandia Gala is being held next month and that it looks like ‘ _The Seven Words’_ will be at auction? Unless Shinnirod had sold it or there’s another forgery, it’s got to be Woodward’s.”

Chariot pinches her brow as she thinks back to the Shinnirod Manor’s unfruitful heist. It was one of the few jobs that the girls had introduced and predominately arranged, however in the midst of the job, they realized they were there for the wrong painting.

“Huh. I’m afraid I haven’t kept up to date with any event news… there’s been another pressing matter, but perhaps we will look into that afterwards.”

“ _I’m sure…”_ Amanda grumbles, just barely audible by the people beside her as she gives Diana a quick, hard, accusatory look.

Not catching Amanda’s comment, Chariot continues, “Which… I should get to the other reason I called you here…” Chariot then begins moving towards the computer in the living room area which had already been hooked up to the television screen.

The girls follow her further into the house, passing by Diana sitting at the table with little more than a few glances. They fall into the same positions on and around the couch as they had the other night, mumbling to one another as they watch their mentor pull up her findings.

All the while, Diana can’t help but notice that Akko hasn’t said a word.

“After going back through the footage of the two jobs, I’ve confirmed that the man dressed as a security officer the other night at Luna Nova was also present at the Meriliad the night of the _Silver Hound_ operation.”

Chariot’s grave tone silences the group and draws Diana’s full focused attention off of Akko and onto the older woman’s words and the man’s video footage photograph displayed on the screen behind her.

“Now,” Chariot continues as she looks around the room at her audience, “being that Luna Nova was a ruse and there would have been no other reason for someone to be breaking into that office, I believe it to be highly likely that whoever it is was after the _Idol_ as we were, which means that they are either one of Croix’s men or a member of the cult I told you about, the Sons of Clytius.”

Diana’s brows furrow in thought. She couldn’t remember seeing any strange activity or any other individuals interested in the _Silver Hound_ the night at the Meriliad.

Well… none other than Akko.

Could there really have been someone else after the artifact right there and she just didn’t notice? She hadn’t even heard of any definitive Sons activity since she found out what happened to her mother, could they have really been there just waiting?

Chariot clears her throat, regaining the attention of those of the girls who were now assessing their memories of the two nights. “Now, thanks to Constanze we still have access to the cameras… and over the last few days I have been monitoring the Luna Nova museum.” She flips the projection of her screen to the live footage over the front desk of the museum. “If this man were smart, he wouldn’t try going after it again so soon, and as I’ve been watching the feeds from inside the museum, I have not seen him come back yet. In theory, if he knew that the piece was still there and did not get it himself, he would come back to get it and see for himself. And since nothing’s been reported stolen, he has no reason to think it wouldn’t be there any longer.” Her expression goes dark. “Unless of course, they knew it couldn’t have been there in the first place… in which case, his being there may have been for intel on who else may have involvement.” 

“It’s really that serious?” Lotte asks sheepishly. 

“I promise you, I would have told you if it hadn’t been. The further all of you are from this the better.”

“Alright, we get it.” Akko just barely hears Amanda whispers to herself under her breath, the redhead’s expression wrought with aggravation. 

“Whoever it may be that he is working for, they are dangerous just the same. All we know is that he is involved, so keep an eye out.” Chariot then takes a deep breath. “If he or whoever hired him is onto us, we need to be on our guard. Amanda, Akko, Lotte. You were all present at each of the jobs so there is a possibility that whoever it is has recognized some of your faces which means they may be aware of your involvement. Therefore, the sooner we find out who he is working for, the better off we’ll be.”

“Wait, so lemme ask.” Amanda blurts out, her eyebrows furrowed quizzically as a slight bite of aggravation makes itself known in her voice. “So, this seems to be entirely about this super-secret artifact thing that none of us knew about until a few days ago, yeah? Would you have told us _any_ of this if you didn’t have to “come out” already because of _her_?” Amanda jerks a thumb over towards Diana.

The group of girls shift their attention from Amanda’s accusation driven question towards their mentor intently.

A tense frown lays across Chariot’s lips. “I would have told you what you needed to know. Alas, being that you are now familiar with some of the context, I don’t see a reason to keep the potential motive from you.” The older woman takes a breath as her eyebrows pinch. “This wasn’t supposed to happen… and I’m truly sorry for putting you girls in this position.”

Amanda puckers her lips and lets her shoulders fall before looking down to the ground silently. Sure, some details may have been kept, but after the last few days of reevaluating everything, she knows damn well that the woman they had spent the last several years with would have done everything in her power to keep them safe.

Despite the twinge of shame for reacting out again, Amanda can’t quite bring herself to apologize.

“Whatever. We’re always in jeopardy of some kind of danger anyway.” The redhead mumbles. “So, what are we supposed to do about this now?”

“Well, you should try to keep low and stay vigilant about being aware of who or what’s around you. With hope, it won’t look like anything other than coincidence if they did notice that those of you who were there looked familiar. However, it is best if you are wary at least for the time being.” Chariot looks up “Now, I’m not certain as to who we should be looking out for in terms of who this man works for, however, I do have a hunch as to how we can find out.” An almost invisible smile teases at her lips as she turns her attention towards Constanze who had been sitting in thought with her hands folded at her mouth. Upon noticing Chariot’s direct gaze at her she straightens her back and gives her full attention.

“Constanze… will you be able to hack into a bank’s records?”

The short girl blows a raspberry and nods her head with an expression indicating that the request was easy as child’s play.

Diana’s eyebrows raise at the sheer confidence in the ability to complete the task asked exhibited by this very young-looking girl. Even more unexpected, as she looks around the rest of the room, none of the other girls find the shorter girl’s ability at question.

‘ _They really are serious in this lifestyle…’_

Chariot nods her head. “Excellent. Now, would you be able to look into scans of any cheques deposited from the Meriliad that could have been from the donations that night?”

The girls pinch their brows for only a few moments before remembering that the Meriliad estate had a required ‘donation’ upon entrance. A lot of those who came were of the upper crust and it was far more likely for them to have come with cheques rather than walking around with notes.

Chariot sees the realization spring onto several of the girl’s faces and she continues, “Now, if he works for Croix… there is a chance that the donation made could be traced to her company. The opportunity for the donation would have been tempting to gain notoriety for the company by showing support, so she would have wanted to be associated with it.”

“And if they had stolen the artifact, people would have a hard time believing that a tech giant would have a need to steal artwork…” Lotte hums in thought.

“She’d be demonstrating her wealth and generosity as PR and since she herself was not there and surely accounted for elsewhere, she would be far less of a suspect.” Chariot finishes.

Constanze squints her eyes at the floor, nodding her head in thought before decisively looking up towards Chariot and giving her a thumbs up. With a confident smile, she takes her index finger and taps it twice against her right cheek.

Constanze signs again, eyes inquiring on Chariot as she cocks her head questioningly.

Chariot takes a breath. “I don’t think it would be wise. I really don’t want Croix to catch on to us looking into her. Knowing her she probably has some intense security measure in place and we can’t risk her tracking it back to us.”

Constanze nods her head in understanding.

“What about the rest of us?” Sucy asks. “Is there anything aside from not getting trailed that we should be doing?” 

Chariot looks over to her with a contemplative expression. “At the moment no. Just remain careful about surveillance and anyone who may be acting suspicious. I hate to stoke awareness to paranoia, however it’s safest for all of us to be on our guard.” 

Sucy curtly nods in understanding as Lotte steps forward. 

“Can I take a look at the footage from the Meriliad? To see if there were any other faces that look familiar from Luna Nova?” Lotte asks.

“Oh yes, of course.” Chariot says as she ushers the redhead over and turns back to the computer to pull up the footage from that night. “I had looked myself, however I was not finding any others, so maybe with a second look you’ll be able to find something I’ve missed.” 

“Hey, so, um...” Jasminka speaks up with an awkwardness that draws her mentor’s attention. “What... do you want us to call you?” 

The rest of the girls take pause from what they had been engaged in and look up towards the pink haired girl then over to the older woman, awaiting her answer. 

“We know not to use your real name out... but... what do you want _us_ to call you?” 

Chariot looks back at them with a sad smile. Despite them knowing the truth, they must continue the lie. It had never been about the girls finding out about her identity, only to avoid Croix’s radar. 

She pauses. “It would be best if you referred to me as Ursula or by codename.” Jasminka nods before the older woman continues. “While we are more than likely safe here, I’m afraid that now that there is a possibility of someone having a lead on our involvement, it would be safest if we continue as we had before.” Chariot looks around at the tightening of lips of her team. “Unfortunately, if my real name was to be recognized it will cause more harm than good.” 

Jasminka nods her head once more with a soft, yet sad, smile on her lips. “I understand.” 

“So, these people who know your name. What do they think just _happened_ to whoever you used to be?” Amanda asks, her arms folded over her chest. “We know your ex-roommate knows your name, but if this cult has been keeping up with these statues and anybody looking into them, wouldn’t they have looked into whoever Deedee’s mom was working with?” 

Diana frowns at the offhand nickname, noticing that the purple haired girl who had glared at her earlier begins to snicker. 

“How’d you get them off your scent? Easy as a name change or did you have to fake your death or something?” Amanda questions her with a humored pull to her brow. 

Chariot meets Amanda’s eyes with a serious look and a tight, shy, damning smile. 

The entire team freezes their activity and tries to analyze the woman’s response to detect any denial. Humor falls from Amanda’s expression as her eyes widen and her jaw drops just a little. “You’re shitting me..." 

The older woman’s smile grows guilty as she shrugs her shoulders. “As you said... They would have come after anyone who Bernadette may have confided in.” 

“You’re a _GHOST_???” Amanda leans forward over the back of the couch in complete astonishment, completely abandoning her previous anger. 

“Yes.” Chariot nods before taking another breath and folding her hands in front of herself defensively. “And you must understand that my reason for not telling you tha-”

“Yeah, yeah, protect us- That’s fucking awesome! How did you ‘die’!?” Amanda asks in excited awe as she marks her last word with pulsing finger quotes. 

Following came several minutes of the girls (Amanda mostly,) barraging the older woman with questions about the staged car accident and the deal with Nelson that resulted in the woman she had become. As it turns out, getting a new identity isn’t cheap, and in order to pay the fence back for the new life, Nelson had offered Chariot jobs to acquire “misplaced items” to pay off her debt. 

It just so happened that Chariot felt that continuing down this path seemed to fare well for her mission of finding the artifacts that took her old life away. 

“So, that’s why you got involved in thievery...” Lotte hums with her hand on her chin.

“Yes.” Chariot nods patiently. “Is there anything else you girls want to know about what’s led up to all of this?” 

“Depends... can you tell us if Nelson can do more than fence and forge new identities?” Amanda raises a brow. Her distaste and frustration from earlier forgotten as a comfortably quirky smile crosses her lips. 

“If she can, I’m not aware.” Chariot gives her a half smile in return before looking around to the rest of the group. “Any questions on our mystery man?” She asks as she turns back to the television with the Meriliad man’s slightly blurred image on the screen. 

“Might be one of your friend’s men, might be a cultist; either way, we should make sure he or anyone else is not following us.” Sucy states monotonously. “Pretty straight forward.” 

Chariot nods her head. “Good.” Her eyes then shift up to the rest of the group. 

“Can I make a copy of the Meriliad and the Luna Nova security footage from our job nights to look over from home?” Lotte asks followed by a hum from Constanze indicating that she too would like a copy. 

“That would be just fine.” Chariot responds before turning and scurrying towards her office. “I should have some secure flash drives in here...” 

As Lotte and Constanze follow Chariot into the office, the rest of the girls break off and begin chatting amongst themselves – mostly about the new information they had just learned about their mentor. 

Diana awkwardly looks around and listens to the quiet chatter before concluding that she will not be invited into their conversation. Unsurprised, she decides that her time will be better spent looking over the notes she had been poring over earlier. Just as she reaches for her notebook, she takes one last look around the room, and to her surprise, sees Akko approaching. 

She had noticed that the brunette had been excruciatingly quiet throughout the whole meeting. Even when Amanda was seeming like she had let any ill feeling fade away, Akko remained silent. Diana had watched her, she couldn’t stop herself, but despite her eyebrows raising on occasion and various other expressions, the brunette had been uncharacteristically questionless. 

It felt as though time had slowed as Akko came towards her. There was far too much time for Diana’s thoughts to lay waste across her mind. 

_‘Okay, here we go. This is as good as a time as ever to apologize to her properly. Come on! What was I going to say? I just have to be honest. It’s not that hard. Lying is hard. I truly feel badly about hurting her so why is figuring out what I really feel proving to be so difficult!?’_

Diana opens her mouth to greet the brunette with the intention of leading into an apology, but she hears Akko’s voice first. 

“I found your dog tracker.” 

Diana’s mind halts as she looks at the other girl’s expression. Not once had she seen so many masks over someone’s face. It seems as though if even one were to crack, there were three more at the ready to conceal its weak spot. 

“I have to give you credit for tripping and burning your hand so you could have an opening to plant it on me.” Akko puts on a fake, emotionless, smile. “And to think... you’re making it sound like you’re not even a career con artist.” 

Diana looks up at the girl standing across the table. It looks as though there stood only a husk of the thoughtful, bubbly, girl that she had come to know. She must still be in there, but she knows that the only reason the other girl is boarded up behind layers and layers of façade is because of her own actions. 

“I-I...” Diana stumbles under the intensity of the brunette’s eyes. While her expression is doctored to perfection, her eyes give away all the turmoil churning underneath it. Beneath her mask hid tidal waves of hurt and frustration spun with tendrils of disappointment lashing against the red of her irises. What Diana couldn’t know however, is if that disappointment Akko felt was for her, or for herself. 

“Hey, Akko. Ready to go?” 

Both the blonde and the brunette look over towards the sudden cut in from Sucy who had clearly been studying their interaction in the time it had taken Lotte to gather her newly acquired thumb drive. The purple haired girl glares towards Diana before softening just a bit as her eyes move toward her friend. 

“Yeah...” Akko says dully, jamming her hands into her pockets with one last glare towards the blonde before heading over towards her partners. 

Diana can only helplessly clench her hands in her lap as she watches her go. What could she say to fix any of this? 

She shyly watches as Akko and the other two say their goodbyes to the rest of their friends. While Akko’s face brightens just a little as she does so, the moment she and her friends turn from their farewell’s and thank you’s to Chariot and looked back towards the blonde, the mask resets. 

Diana shamefully looks down to the table away from the force of the brunette’s disapproval. Although she couldn’t see her, she could still feel the weight of the rooms tension settled over her shoulders.

Even once the front door had shut behind the three as they left, there was a far more prevalent discomfort of what felt like she was trespassing in the other girl’s home.

“She’ll come around.”

Diana flinches at the sudden voice as she looks up across the table. There, the pink haired girl who had previously knocked her out stood with a soft half smile on her face.

“Akko just needs a little more time sorting things out. None of us were expecting to see you again so soon.” The other girl says, her smile never faltering.

Diana’s expression eases as it appears that this other girl doesn’t completely despise her presence.

“In honesty, I expected she wouldn’t be too happy to see me.” Diana responds with a troubled brow. “I can’t blame her.”

The pink haired girl hums, her smile turning thoughtful as she studies the blonde. “It’s good to see you actually do care about her…”

Diana’s brow furrows as her cheeks begin taking on a slight pink hue. Before she can respond, the other girl continues.

“We’re a family, and we’d do just about anything for each other. It may take a little while for everyone to accept you in here, but if you genuinely feel bad about what happened between Akko and you, I’m pretty sure she’ll warm back up.” She says comfortingly.

Diana’s eyes soften as an appreciative smile pulls at the side of her mouth. “Thank you –” Her brow pinches…

It’s then that she realizes she had not been introduced to anyone other than Akko and Amanda.

“– I’m sorry… What’s your name?”

“Oh!” The pink haired girl’s eyebrows shoot upwards in realization.

Akko wouldn’t have told her about them before all of this, and since, with all the hostility, it’s not much of a surprise that no one introduced themselves.

“Jasminka.” The pink haired girl fills in with a smile. “And over there is Constanze,” she points over towards the short girl sitting with Chariot over by the computer. “And Akko’s two roommates are Lotte and Sucy. Sucy was the one who was glaring.” She lowers her voice and leans in. “It doesn’t seem like it on the surface and she’ll never admit it, but she’s pretty protective over the two of them.”

Diana tightens her lips nervously. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.”

“Mhm.” Jasminka nods. 

“Ey Jas, we’re heading out.” Amanda’s voice calls across the room as she and Constanze (armed with a newly, footage-loaded flash drive) begin moving towards them.

Jasminka looks up and says, “Okay!”, before turning back to Diana, the smile never leaving her face. “Nice to re-meet you. See you later.”

“Bye.” Diana says shyly as the pink haired girl leaves to gather her things.

“Well… I suppose this is _Welcome Aboard,_ Cavendish…” Amanda says tightly as she pauses by the table, eyeing the closed books and folders hiding whatever the blonde’s reason for being there is. Her piercing green eyes flit up to meet the blonde’s, any kindness and teasing that had been present earlier is barren from her features. “I’m not sure what your record is, but I just have a little bit of advice...” She narrows her eyes, judgment in her irises. “Unless you’re trying to get all of us caught right here, maybe try not parking your personal car in front of the building next time.”

* * *

Diana had only stayed a little longer after her warning from Amanda, which in retrospect made her feel foolish for her oversight. There had been so many other things on her mind that where she parked her car hadn’t registered as important. 

Despite all she had discovered from her mother’s notebooks over the last few days, with the additional responsibility of protecting this team of thieves, it seems she still has a lot to learn.

As the blonde lays on her bed, notebooks safely locked inside a dual combination briefcase beneath her dresser, Diana lets out a sigh. Her eyes slowly drift close with the exhale of breath, only to wince as the expression of hurt on Akko’s face flashes into her mind.

_‘Of course, I care about her… And even if Jasminka says that she just needs time to warm up, she deserves an apology.’_

Diana opens her eyes tiredly and looks over toward her phone. There was a part of her hoping that Akko would reach out to her to start the conversation.

‘ _I must be a coward.’_ She thinks to herself before turning away from the message-less phone in frustration. Even if the brunette had texted her, there was something about the idea of apologizing over text message that just didn’t sit right for this situation.

She’ll surely see her again at the Tutoring House, she would just have to apologize then.

‘ _Even so, what do I say? Is apologizing going to help her or is it just meant to relieve me of some guilt? I know I have no right to forgiveness, but…’_

Diana frowns, biting her lip, thinking about Jasminka’s astute observation once more. 

‘ _I miss her…’_

She knows she had initially kept in contact with the brunette in order to find out more information about her team, however, over the last few days, she found that it felt like something was missing when she was not reading and replying to the girl’s cheery texts and 2am personality questions.

It was a short and… misleading friendship… but despite the ulterior motive, Diana truly did wish that it could have stood a chance.

‘ _How do I say that I’m sorry?’_

From the next room, Diana hears Hannah and Barbara laughing over some audio playing on one of their phones and instantly her thoughts are taken over by Amanda.

She had done as much as she could in order to protect Hannah and Barbara. But could she trust that Amanda would have that same goal in mind?

* * *

Akko’s fingers mash against the plastic buttons of her PlayCube X controller before she watches the little man on the screen get eaten by a giant venus fly trap… again. With a huff of frustration and the squeak of plastic in her hands as she squeezes the controller, Akko cracks her neck and resets the level, starting yet again.

After a hypervigilant drive home from Blytonbury’s campus, Akko had disappeared into her room without a word. 

Lotte and Sucy could clearly see that seeing Diana again so soon after the true nature behind her and Akko’s relationship had been revealed was striking their friend harder than expected. Despite the brunette talking confidently of bouncing back strong, they could see now that she had been trying to convince herself possibly more than she was trying to convince them of how well she was doing getting over the blonde. Lotte had tried to comfort Akko as subtly as she could on the ride home, but as the other girl began heading to her room upon arriving home, Sucy had held the redhead back to give their friend some space to think.

Akko barrages the buttons of the controller with desperate abandon before tossing the controller against her pillows as the little man falls down into a bottomless pit and the words ‘Game Over’ swipe onto the screen.

“Hhhhhhhh!” Akko growls through grit teeth as she runs her hands frustratedly through her hair. She has beaten this game in the past more times than she can count. It had always been a goto for whenever she wanted to relax with a little nostalgia from her childhood, however, it seems her attempt at distracting herself is proving to be fruitless.

Her eyes glance up at the screen one last time, the bold white words taunting her loss, before resigning and falling back onto her bed. She closes her eyes in frustration, giving up on her attempt at coping after seeing that her distraction was ineffective against the pressing thoughts flooding through her mind. 

_‘So Louis is looking for me… some cult or CrossTech CEO is maybe trailing us… Diana’s now suddenly buddies with Ursula and is going to be around for a while hhhhhhhhhh! IS ANYTHING ELSE GOING TO HAPPEN TODAY??’_

Akko brings her hands to her face and covers her eyes with her palms as she lets out a pent up breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. 

_‘Do I tell Amanda about Louis?’_ She forces herself to reconsider _. ‘If he’s actively looking, she should know. But if she goes to look for him, he’ll find us sooner.’_

An image of the out of place looking blonde woman at the Tutoring House dining table flashes across her mind. 

_‘Andrew seemed scared… and he didn’t tell Amanda for the same reason…’_

Ocean blue eyes stare up at her from the table, lips open with unsaid words.

_‘What would he do if he did find us?’_

From the edge of her vision, she remembers seeing those blue eyes follow her into the living room.

_‘Would it be worse than if these other people caught us?’_

_‘The way she had her leg tucked under herself at the table was adorable…’_

_‘OH MY GOD WHY CAN’T I GET DIANA OUT OF MY HEAD?!’_

Akko groans out loud in aggravation. No matter what she thought about, no matter how hard she tried to shove the memory of her to the back of her mind, no matter how many distractions she had forced herself to do over the last few days… the thoughts and the vision and the feelings she felt for the blonde barreled through, interrupting any and all solace. She even had a weird dream that the two of them were sitting side by side on a bus listening to music on one set of headphones the night prior, almost like a premonition that she would see her today. She had been telling Lotte and Sucy that she was getting over the other girl easily enough, but it was very much a lie. 

_‘Why did it have to be her? Why couldn’t I have seen ANYONE ELSE at that stupid showcase? HHHH…’_

Through her grumblings she can hear a light knock at her door. “Akko? Are you okay in there?” She hears Lotte say from the other side of the wooden door. 

Akko clears her throat and takes a breath, realizing she may have been a little too loud in her expression. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that…”

“Can I come in?” She hears the other girl’s voice ask.

With as much effort as she was capable of after this long, long day, she throws on another mask and challenges herself to brighten the tone of her voice. “Yeah, sure!” She yells back with the response of the bedroom door swinging open with a click. 

“Hey…” Lotte says tenderly as she steps into the room, her eyes drifting from the ‘Game Over’ screen to the flung controller that had bounced off of the bed and onto the floor, before finally settling on the brunette whose eyes were just starting to take on color beneath a thin layer of moisture. 

“Everything okay?” Akko asks innocently enough, though not quite so certain that the redhead is buying it. 

“Yeah.” She forces a small smile before heading over towards the brunette’s bed. “I just wanted to check in on you… a lot happened tonight.”

 _‘And you don’t even know about Louis...’_ Akko muses before feeling the familiar weight of guilt that seems to always accompany her thoughts of him. 

“Oh… yeah… y’know. I guess it was just a matter of time before we found some other thieves who were after the same thing ya know? There’s always that chance of danger I guess.” Akko shrugs her shoulders as she tries her damndest to keep Diana far, far, far from her mind.

Lotte, however, can see right through her. The redheaded girl folds her hands in her lap as she takes a seat on the brunette’s bed. “Oh, yes. It would make sense… But um… I actually meant about everything with… Diana…” 

Akko deflates. 

“Wh-what do you mean?” Akko tries, attempting to say as nonchalantly as possible. However, her attempt is only met with Lotte raising a single knowing eyebrow.

Akko’s shoulders slump before looking down to the floor. It was no use trying to hide it from the most observant member of her family. “It… could be better…”

“You want to talk about it?” She asks. “I can’t imagine it would be easy, but even before we went to Ursula’s you seemed… on edge.”

Akko bites the inside of her cheek.

‘ _Well… while it was Louis that probably put me on edge earlier… it really has been hard… with Diana… But I shouldn’t be letting it get me this bad! Yeah, it was hard seeing her, but what am I? Why can’t I just let it go?’_

“Not really… but…” Akko sighs as one of the more pressing things her mind has been taunting her with over the last few days comes to light. “Do you think Ursula really trusts her? I mean, I guess _she_ hasn’t been the most truthful, which I guess I understand why, but I don’t know. Would you trust her?”

Lotte thinks for a moment before opening her mouth to answer, only to be cut off by Akko who appears as focused as ever to finish her thoughts.

“And I mean, Ursula has been with us for years, and I know she didn’t tell us about this to protect us, but she just… she told Diana everything… like… _just like that._ And I mean, _I guess_ there’s a history there… but we have a history too… and she just decided to ask Diana to come over and work with her without talking to us or anything. She brought her into the family so fast and like…” With a furrowed brow she takes a strained breath. “Does she trust her more than she trusts us?”

Lotte frowns before readjusting herself on the bed. “I don’t believe that for a second.” Akko looks up at her, seeing a thoughtful expression on the redhead’s face. “Ursula had to tell her because if she didn’t Diana would still think we were a threat. It also makes sense to ally… they’re looking for the same information and if they each trust that the other is on the same side… it really is smarter to work together.”

Akko frowns as the other girl takes the silence to continue. “It would have been nice if she had taken into consideration your and Diana’s history, but… from the sounds of it… it looks like whatever they’re working on is far larger than we realize…” Lotte takes a breath before straightening her back. “I don’t know… If I was in her position, I think I would have tried to do the same thing. If I was putting people I care about in danger by telling them information, I think I’d try to keep them away from it.” 

Akko’s mind drifts to her situation with Louis and Amanda and finds herself feeling a little better about following her gut. Maybe when something happens to force her hand, like when Ursula had no choice but to tell Diana what’s going on, THEN she’ll tell Amanda… but for now, she wants to keep her safe.

“I guess I would too…” Akko shrugs, looking to the floor beneath Lotte’s feet.

“As for Diana, I guess we’ll have to find out. I guess all we can do is to keep an eye out for each other until we find out if we can trust her.” Lotte smiles. “Though, Ursula’s smart… and I’m sure has done some research on her… If she’s willing to give Diana a chance, I think we can trust her judgement.”

Akko takes a breath continues to bite at the inside of her cheek. ‘ _She has a point… Ursula wouldn’t have made that decision lightly… I’ve never seen anyone overthink as much as she does… but…’_

“Even if Ursula trusts her… I… I don’t know if _I_ can yet… y’know? I just… hhhhh…” Akko grumbles.

“How did she pull one over on you anyway?”

Akko and Lotte look up towards Sucy who appeared to have been leaning on the doorframe listening in.

A slight heat rises in Akko’s cheeks at the purple haired girl’s question. “I don’t know…”

“I know I tease you, but you’re smarter than that.” Sucy frowns. “You con people all the time, you know the signs and behaviors… what happened?”

“I-”

“You train for this kind of thing… How could you fall for that?”

“Cause I liked her!” Akko yells, seeing Lotte look over in alarm at the escalation in her voice as Sucy watches, expressionless as usual.

“I… I liked her a lot… and I was dumb enough to think that she liked me back.” Akko feels the heat from her cheeks take over the rest of her face, moisture beginning to take its place on her eyes. “And… it was nice to be a part of something sort of… normal… but look how well that worked out! She didn’t trust me and thought I was dangerous from day one, day two she planted a dog tracker on me –”

Sucy smirks before quickly returning her face to neutral.

“ – and THEN I find out she’s watching where I’m going and thinks I’m part of some terrorist organization that killed her mom… and NOW she’s working with Ursula on some super-secret project that we can’t be told about and – .” Akko takes a second to catch her breath and sighs as the tears start their trek down her cheeks. “And… now I don’t know what I feel. I’m sad? I’m jealous? My chest hurts and… I…” She sniffles, “I feel like I should be angry… but I’m not… I feel stupid for getting conned… and…” Akko stops, taking in a shuddering breath. 

“…What?” Lotte asks gently as she places a comforting hand on her friend’s back, prompting one big snort from the brunette.

“I feel stupid for missing her… at least… who I thought she was…” Akko wipes her face on her sleeve, “That person didn’t even exist.”

The girls pause for a moment before Lotte breaks the silence. “Well… that’s not necessarily true…” the redhead says softly as she rubs circles between Akko’s shoulders. “Whenever you play a role, you always have a little bit of yourself in it, right? To ground you, to get you to care about your character?”

Akko nods.

“I’m sure the Diana that you met may have had some things hidden, but whoever you met was still part of her. You just have to find out if the parts you liked about her were the parts that were real.” Lotte ceases her calming circles and then rests her hand on Akko’s shoulder and scoots closer as to give her a hug.

“I can’t imagine all of this has been easy for her either…” Lotte continues, “and maybe now that she doesn’t believe we’re a danger to her, maybe she’ll open up? We’re not really given a choice… we’re going to be seeing her… So, if you want my opinion, I think you should give her another chance… At the very least it should help you feel different than how you’re feeling right now.”

“You really think so?” Akko looks towards her with red, watery eyes. “What if she’s completely different from who I thought she was?”

“It’s not going to be the same, but maybe without the ulterior motive, the difference could be better.” Lotte says with a soft, hopeful smile.

“And if she’s worse, I’m sure I can whip something up that could teach her a lesson…” Sucy says with a hint of excited anticipation in her voice.

Akko looks up to Sucy, warning her that a threat will not be necessary, before returning her eyes to Lotte’s and wiping her cheeks and nose one last time with her sleeve.

“I’ll try…” She says with a soft smile before returning Lotte’s hug, drawing a humored eye roll from Sucy.

‘ _Lotte might be right… I should give it a little more time… and maybe seeing if the Diana I met is still there or not could help me get over these feelings… Be strong Akko, you’ve got this.’_

_‘Like it or not, now she’s part of the family… and speaking from experience… we all know what difference a second chance can make.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll!  
> Okay... so, there miiight be a bit of a wait until the next update, but it WILL come. I have chapters 14-16 written, but I want to make sure 17 (and maybe 18 depending on how long 17 runs) are settled before posting. I'm super excited for what's coming up and I really hope you guys enjoy it!! Slowly but surely, more clues will be coming together. 
> 
> As always, thank you guys for reading and for all of your wonderful support!!


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